


An Invitation To Kill For

by TigerLilyNoh



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Absurdism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Murder, Banter, Case Fic, Dancing, F/M, Flirting, Gratuitous Violence, Lucifer never escaped, Magic, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Murder, Murder Mystery, Resolved Sexual Tension, Ruby having way too much fun, Ruby-centric, Sam in a Suit, Sam-Centric, Sex, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, Slow Dancing, Surreal, Wall Sex, Witch Ruby, Witches, spncasefic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 17:46:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11109672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerLilyNoh/pseuds/TigerLilyNoh
Summary: While investigating three murders, Sam & Ruby accidentally accept an unnatural invitation. Trapped in the strange encounter, they need to navigate a supernatural soirée, and catch the killer before they become the next victims- all the while dealing with their growing romantic & sexual tension.Cocktails & Conspiracy. High society & Secret society. Dancing & Dead bodies. Formal wear & Flirtations.(Alternate Universe/Canon Divergent: This Ruby didn’t betray Sam at the end of season four and is arguably a Good!Ruby.)





	1. Chapter One

Ruby strolled around the Jefferson County medical examiner’s lab peeking into assorted containers while Sam reviewed several reports that had been compiled on the third victim in a string of unusual killings over the last 24 hours.  

The first victim was identified as Peter Fulmer, a man who had attended a business meeting in London less than five hours before being found dead in Southern California.  He was discovered in a garbage bag on the side of the road.  His strangled body might not have been found except for the fact that the killer apparently wasn't familiar with the trash pickup schedule for the neighborhood he was left in.  The suspicious bag was luckily investigated before there was too much damage from the heat & humidity inside the black bag that had been left in the sun.  A mugging gone wrong had been ruled out thanks to the unusual lengths the killer went to in order to hide the body and the fact the Fulmer’s wallet hadn't been taken.

The second victim was Kelly Ross, a twelve year old girl.  She was found six hours after Fulmer, roughly a mile away.  Her neck had been snapped before being left in an alley.  There were no signs of assault and her diamond pendant necklace hadn't been stolen.  The police were trying to locate her father in order to identify the body, but after ten hours of searching for him the situation was growing suspicious.  After a quick glance at the file, Ruby noted that the father, a Devin Ross, was a widower and suggested that he was their main suspect in her death.  Unfortunately, Devin & Kelly Ross both lacked a connection to the other two victims.

The third victim was a local community college professor named Jeffrey Martens.  His death had caught their attention because Mr. Martens had been reported missing over three years earlier.  To add to the mystery, a witness reported that the corpse was being picked over by a man, who fled when approached.  The stab wound was an irregular shape with what looked like a six pointed star, but a cast of the wound hadn't been completed so it was hard to tell what the weapon might look like.

Ruby started picking through the bin of Martens’ personal effects.  Unsurprisingly, there was no wallet found on the victim and he’d had to be identified by his fingerprints.  In fact, there was almost nothing in the bin aside from his drab collegial style clothes.  She'd nearly given up on the tub when she noticed a strange ridge in the jacket’s fabric.

“Sam,”  She held up a tweed coat.  Her fingers touched the lining of the back panel of the jacket rather than the pockets.  “there's something in here.”

“What do-”  Sam started, but was interrupted by her ripping open the inner lining.  He rolled his eyes a bit at the blatant destruction of evidence, then walked over for a better look.

There was a wallet sized embossed envelope with an unbroken royal blue wax seal.  The seal was pressed with the image of a man’s head with two faces on opposite sides.  She held it up for Sam to see.  He accepted the envelope and examined it for a moment.

“The symbol on the seal is probably Janus, roman god of beginnings, transitions, endings, gateways, time- that kind of stuff.”  Sam observed.

“So what's he doing hidden in our vic’s coat?”

“One way to find out.”  Sam said, then broke the seal and read the calligraphic text from inside.  “‘Honored guest, you & a date are invited to attend. Please arrive-’”

“Attend what?”

“It doesn't say.”  Sam answered, then continued reading.  “‘Please arrive promptly by midnight.  In the event of your absence you will be dearly mourned.’”

“Mourned?”  Ruby looked down at the body.  “What date is it for?”

“There's no date on it.”  Sam said after quickly checking the outside of the invitation for any additional insight.

“Well, I guess this guy knew when it was.”

“Maybe not, maybe he missed whatever it was and that's what got him killed?”  Sam speculated as he took out his smartphone and pulled up a street view of the address written on the bottom of the card.

“Hey, at least we've got some theories or red herrings.”  Ruby commented.

“This has got to be wrong.”  Sam checked the phone again before handing it to her.  “It's a vacant lot.”

“Huh, check it out.”  She zoomed in on the image, then handed the phone back to him.  “The dirt in the lot is the same red as the dirt on our first victim’s shoes.”

“Want to check it out on the way back to the motel?”

“It's not like we have a better lead unless you know a stationary store open at 11 o’clock.”  Ruby nodded at the invitation, which Sam tucked into his jacket pocket.

Sam called Dean as he closed up the three file folders he'd been skimming through.  Martens’ body had already been moved into cold storage and after a three visits to the morgue in one day, Sam & Ruby had been allowed to review records without a chaperone.  Sam was watching Ruby roll up the jacket in an attempt to hide the damage when Dean answered.

“Any luck on your end?”  Sam didn’t bother with a pleasantry.  It’d been a long day for all four of them.

“Not much.  Cas & I still can't find anything to connect these deaths.  The two guys are weird, but the girl might just be a coincidence.”  Dean updated him.  “We’re gonna double check on missing persons in the old local newspapers, see if we've got a potential vic minus a body that connects the dots- or maybe previous strings of disappearances.  The guy that's been missing three years is throwing the normal time window all off.  Anyway, one of the girl’s neighbors is head librarian and is opening it up for us in about ten minutes.”

“Ruby & I are going to check out a vacant lot on the edge of town- Eversong Drive by the freeway, then we’re heading back to the motel.”

“Juicy lead?”

“Not sure, victim number three had an invitation with the lot’s address.  It's probably outdated, but the lot looks like it has red dirt like on the first guy.”

“It might connect the vics.”  Dean agreed, undoubtedly hoping to cut his late night trip to the library short.

“Knowing how these things go we’ll probably find out that half the town is built on that red dirt.”  Sam commented while gesturing to Ruby that they should wrap things up there and take off.  She nodded, then started reshelving the tub of personal effects.

“Have fun searching through a lot full of trashed concrete & crack needles while getting chased by stray dogs.”  Dean teased.

“I hope the library only has microfiche.”

* * *

“You never take me anywhere nice.”  Ruby joked as she looked out the car window at the rundown neighborhood.

“From now on we’ll only investigate murders in five star resorts.”  Sam replied.  “There's a reason hunters live out of cars & pay by the hour motels.”

“I'm a mercenary, not a hunter.”

“Mercenaries get paid.”  Sam corrected.  “You're a hunter.”

“You pay me with bourbon & your charming company.”  She countered, earning a smile from him.

Sam felt it was reasonable to say that their professional partnership had grown into a sincere friendship about two years earlier.  After helping to kill Lilith and preventing Lucifer’s escape from his prison, Ruby had found herself without direction.  Helping the Winchesters had made her an enemy of Hell, but as a demon she wasn't really in the good graces of Heaven or most supernaturally aware humans.  Sam had suggested that she continue to help them more generally.  

For the first few weeks there was some tension between Ruby & Dean.  She mostly interacted with Sam and only dropped in on them occasionally, but after a couple months they reached a fair balance.  Dean would run down leads with Castiel and Sam would have Ruby to keep him company.  Sam & Dean had to be conscious of the possibility of two teleporting companions that didn't sleep dropping in on them at odd hours and every once in awhile Sam had to share the back seat with Ruby, but for the most part it was the same old job.

“You've known for how many centuries that you're going to live indefinitely.”  Sam offered to help fill the silence.  “So how come you don't have a small fortune in savings?”

“Do you remember the 70’s?”  Ruby asked.

“I clearly remember not being born yet.”

“Back in the 70’s there was a massive change in the economy.  All U.S. currency was converted into hookers & blow.”  She played with a seam of the car’s upholstery for a moment, then added.  “It's surprisingly hard to transfer wealth between meatsuits these days.  Everything has serial numbers & paper trails.”

“You never kept anything from body to body, through the years?”  

He hadn't meant for the question to approach more serious territory, but he was curious about Ruby.  She rarely talked about her existence prior to joining them and to the extent she did it was mostly when the two of them were away from Dean & Castiel.  She definitely seemed to be more generous and candid with Sam than the others, though it could've been his imagination or at least the result of the tensions while hunting Lilith.  As expected, Ruby answered despite the invasive question- honesty was one of the perks of her not caring what anyone else thought.

“I’ve had my knife for… it must be 130 years- Oh, I had a silver ‘58 Lotus Elite that I used over the course of at least twenty bodies until it was completely destroyed in a crash.  That sweet little treasure ended up shattered and flaming over a hundred foot stretch of the autobahn just northeast of Trier.”  Ruby sighed.  “After that I tried to cut back on collecting things.  It's kinda asking for trouble when you don't age.”

“I might age, but I sort of get what you mean about holding onto things.”  He thought back to living with Jessica, all the things they had and shared- everything he'd lost in the fire.  The thought of not just losing people to the passage of time, but nearly everything made him appreciate a mindset that prioritized living more in the moment.  “I mean basically everything that's important to me is in this car.”

Sam could feel his heart pound one too many times as his brain replayed the last sentence in his head.  He'd misspoken.  He hadn't meant to send any weird signals.  What he'd intended to say was that everything important in his life could fit inside the impala.  He debated whether it made sense to clarify his feelings or if that would just make things awkward.  Ruby certainly didn't seem to be eyeing him or anything of the like.

“It's nice to have some good company, I will say that.”  Ruby acknowledged.

“I never thought I'd live to hear you say something nice about Dean.”

“You haven't yet.”

Sam couldn't help smiling subtly at her combination jab & correction.  Neither of them spoke for the remaining few blocks of the drive, but he was content listening to Ruby lightly tap her fingers and hum along to the radio.  He parked across the street from the vacant lot, then reached into the glovebox to collect a pistol.  After double checking the magazine, he nodded to Ruby that he was ready to go.

“What do you want to bet we find another dead body in there?”  Ruby muttered while closing the car door.  

She circled around the impala and stood next to Sam for a moment while they assessed the lot.  The normally red dirt was a sickly maroon in the moonlight, but the majority of the ground was obstructed with debris.  Rusted out appliances, opaque bags of what they hoped was just garbage, & leftover construction materials were scattered beyond a chainlink fence that was barely standing.

“I'm less worried about another body and more worried about tetanus.”  Sam commented while eyeing a pile of used planks of wood that undoubtedly contained a few rusty nails.

“Cas can heal you.”  Ruby pointed out.  “But I'll go first and tell you about all the extra lockjaw-looking pieces of metal.”

“What would I do without you?”

“Get lockjaw and have a harder time flirting your way past the bouncers at the nicer bars.”

“The one last week was going to let us in even before you started getting handsy.”  

“I'm not saying that you're incapable of flirting your way in.”  Ruby pried open a gap in the fence big enough to accommodate Sam, then started climbing through.  “The hefty bald one with the neck tattoo was staring at your ass for-”

* * *

Sam rolled his eyes as he followed Ruby through the gap in the chainlink fencing.  He got about three feet in before he stopped abruptly.  His eyes lost focus for a moment.  The blurry world shifted from the cool faint blue of a walk in the moonlight to a warm yellow glow that flickered on plaster walls.  He wasn't cold anymore- the chill breeze had been replaced by warm air that smelled slightly like spices & delicate perfume.

When his eyes refocused, the first thing that registered for him was Ruby.  She was standing a few feet in front of him, hands raised defensively, looking around for threats.  He wasn't the only one completely thrown by the turn of events.

Ruby wasn't in her normal skinny jeans, t-shirt, & leather jacket.  She was wearing an iridescent dark teal evening gown & a pair of long black silk evening gloves.  The dress was completely backless, hanging draped just at the small of her back revealing several tattoos that appeared magical in nature.  

For a moment Sam was completely dumbstruck staring at Ruby, then he thought to look down at himself.  He was wearing a variation on a classic tuxedo with the minor flare of semi-glossy black fabric edging on the collar & cuffs of his coat.  A small pocket square made of the same material as Ruby’s dress set off his otherwise black & white outfit.

They were standing in what appeared to be the entryway to a large extravagant building- though there were no exterior doors or windows in sight.  A ten foot tall arched doorway in front of them led to some sort of interior balcony, but neither of them attempted to venture beyond the immediate area.  As far as they could tell, they were alone in their current room and considering their shock, they weren't prepared to tackle anything else just yet.

“You're seeing this too, right?”  Ruby asked him under her breath.

“Yeah.”  Sam cautiously reached out to touch the wall.  “Is this like a shared hallucination or did we actually move?”

“I'm not sure.”  Ruby blinked her eyes black to see if the world looked any different through demonic eyes.  “It seems real.”

“I guess it could be a dream.  Those seem real when they're happening.”  Sam pointed out.

“Demons don't sleep.”

“Is that still true if this is a sleep spell?”

“See if we can find something to read.  If we’re asleep the text should be jumbled up.”  Ruby started looking around at several displays of small marble sculptures trying to find plaques.  “Jesus Christ, if we're unconscious in some murderers trap somewhere I'm gonna kill somebody.”

Sam tried not to think about that bleak scenario while he searched for something he should normally be able to read.  He found the invitation in his jacket pocket and opened it.  Adding to his growing confusion and alarm, the text inside the card was perfectly legible.

“Thank you for your attendance.”  Sam read aloud, then turned the card around for Ruby to see.  She took the card and read it herself for good measure.

“I don't fucking believe this.”

Sam turned around to find a wall that looked as though something was out of place.  There was a nine foot tall & six foot wide border of carved wood molding framing blank wall.  The two long sides of the framing extended straight down to the floor- it reminded Sam of an ornate door frame, but instead of a set of double doors there was only wall.  He walked over and carefully touched the surface.  It was the direction they'd come from.

“We can't get back this way, at least not with it like this.”  Sam observed.

“A big missing door points pretty heavily toward magic,”  She sighed.  “And some huge pain in the ass later on I'm sure.”

“At least we know this is real… or close enough.”  Sam offered with weak optimism, then began checking the rest of his coat.  “Do we have any weapons?”

“Does it look like I have a place to hold weapons?”  Ruby gestured at her formfitting dress.  Sam tilted his head and chewed his lower lip slightly while looking at her.  “Don’t think too hard on that.”

“Sorry.”  He said, then resumed the quick search of his own clothes.  “I’ve got nothing.”

“So we’re unarmed in some weird place and our way in,”  Ruby patted the blank wall where a door ought to be.  “isn't a way out.”

“Unless you have a better idea I think the only way out is further in.”  Sam pointed to the arched doorway leading to what appeared to be a balcony.  After a thoughtful hesitation, Ruby walked toward the doorway, followed by him.

“What in the everloving fuck…”  Ruby exhaled.

There was a grand hall that was unlike anything Sam had seen before.  Dozens of balconies were spread among four floors surrounding a large atrium.  Beyond the balconies, arched doorways similar to the one they'd just walked through hinted at hallways leading into wings of what had to be a massive complex.  The middle half of the atrium’s floor was dedicated as a dance floor while the two end quarters were tabled seating.  Each side of the hall had a grand staircase that started wide on the ground floor, but split off into narrower branches to connect with the different levels.  Every surface was rich wood, white or black marble, gold, or jewel toned velvet.  

Maybe a hundred or more people were dressed in similarly styled formalwear apparently enjoying themselves below.  Two dozen couples danced on a white marble dance floor to a fugue performed by an orchestra on a mahogany & gold stage.

“Check out the chandeliers.”  Ruby muttered, then nodded upward.

With all the other things to look at, he hadn't noticed the dozen massive chandeliers.  Each chandelier consisted of hundreds of flames, which seemed to swirl around thin golden tendrils that slowly flexed. Instead of being affixed to the ceiling, the chandeliers hovered about fifty feet in the air, occasionally bobbing or drifting with what might've been the wind or sentience- Sam couldn't tell.

“I… I have no idea.”  Sam could barely process everything that was going.  “This is either a ton of magic or we ended up in a weird alternate reality or something?”

“Alternate reality?”  Ruby’s brow furrowed as she mulled over the possibility.  “It's gotta be magic.  I mean, at least we know magic’s real- this place just has a lot going on.”

“Maybe Gabriel or an actual trickster?”  Sam speculated.  “They can pull off full sensory experiences.”

“Where's the joke or what's the game?”  She pointed out.  “We still have three dead people, including a girl.”

“That doesn't sound like Gabriel.”  Sam agreed.

“So what's the play?”  Ruby asked quietly.

“We stole a dead guy's invitation-”  Sam groaned.  That was almost certainly going to bite them in the ass.

“And this looks like some secret society shit.”

“Any chance they'll just let us out?”

“They’ll kill us- I’d kill us.”  Ruby suggested.

“You'd kill someone because they didn't cover their mouth while coughing.”  Sam offered for context.

“Google the Spanish Flu when we get out of here, then tell me I'm overreact-”

“Maybe for the moment try to blend in, at least until we can figure out whether it's safe to be ourselves.”


	2. Chapter Two

They walked up to an ornate cocktail bar on the edge of the dance floor.  Five bartenders worked with astounding reflexes mixing drinks.  A few guests were waiting to place orders, but a long span of the marble countertop was covered with a variety of prepared beverages.  There were small engraved gold signs identifying the different types of drinks, but only a quarter of the options were remotely recognizable.  Text in English, Spanish, French, & Hanzi was gathered onto the same handful of options, providing translations for guests.  Ruby picked up a flute of champagne and eyed the signs that didn't contain English.

“Three of the signs have Abyssal.”  Ruby whispered to Sam, then elaborated.  “The native language of Hell.”

“There's some Enochian on the far end.”  Sam took a quick guess at the number of distinct texts that they hadn't identified.  “Looks like there are maybe 18 other species here.”

“And that's just the species large or important enough to get pre made drinks.”  Ruby commented, then took a sip of the champagne.

“You're really going to drink that?”  Sam asked.  “You don't know that it's safe.”

“I've never needed a drink more in my life and that includes when I died.”  Ruby took another sip.  “Anyway, I'm blending.”

“Please don't get drunk.”  Sam leaned against the counter.  “This is all too weird for me to be the only sober one.”

“You're leaving open the possibility that neither of us stay sober.”  He gave her an unamused glance and she shrugged at him innocently.  “Don't worry, Sam.  It’ll take about fifty of these before I start feeling it.  I've got you.”

“Want to get the lay of the land?”  Sam asked as he tilted his head at the rest of the main hall.

“Absolutely.”  Ruby finished her flute of champagne in a distinctly inelegant long pull, placed the empty glass in front of a bartender, then joined Sam.  

They tried to stroll around the edge of the dance floor, careful to not venture too close to any activity or person.  Sam noted at least a dozen people with clearly inhuman features while others seemed ambiguous.  He'd never had to look up in order to stare a woman in the eyes nor could he remember seeing a man without any nostrils or lips.  As they walked around, he got the strange feeling that they were being watched.  Turning around he suddenly knew why.

“Hello, I don’t believe we’ve met.”  A middle aged woman with ghostly white skin & hair wearing a crimson gown inserted herself into their personal space.   “I’m Merida Vordune.”

“Sam Campbell.”  With all of the random non-human species potentially in the area, he wouldn't have been surprised if the name Winchester would ring a few unwelcome bells.

“Ruby.”

“Bella!”  Merida called out to a younger woman in a dark green dress with extremely short black hair & unamused eyes who was busy chatting with another group.  The older woman gestured for her companion to come over.  “Bellamor, my apprentice- bright girl, but she doesn’t know how to set her agenda yet.”

“Agenda?”  Sam asked, hoping to gain some insight into what people actually did there.

“Sure, having fun is enough of a goal to have, but it’s such a waste to come here and not socialize- Obviously set attainable goals, but there’s no reason to just throw away all ambitions.”  Merida offered as some sort of advice, but he had no idea what wisdom she was actually trying to impart.  Bellamor moved to stand at Merida’s elbow in some sort of customary behavior that didn’t rise to actual attentiveness.  “Bella, this is Sam & Ruby.”

“Nice to meet you.”  Sam smiled, trying to make up for the fact that she’d been pulled away from people that she undoubtedly liked more.

“Charmed.”  Bellamor replied with complete indifference.

“I'm… not familiar with any Campbells in our membership, may I ask who gave you your card?”  Merida asked, though he had the distinct impression that the entire area around them had become unnaturally quiet as multiple bystanders eavesdropped.  He wasn’t exactly sure what she was asking him, but if he had to guess the card she was talking about was the invitation.  Without more context he opted to pick a cover story that explained his ignorance.

“It was in a family safe deposit box.”  Sam offered.  “I inherited it from my brother and found out about it a few days ago.  I couldn't tell you anything more than that.”

“Is there anyone in your family you could talk to about its origin?”  Bellamor asked, apparently drawn in slightly by the mystery.  

“Knowing which other surnames it might be tied to would be very interesting.”  Merida agreed, then shook her head remorsefully.  “We’ve lost many lines over the centuries without explanation.  It's so rare to have them revive, especially the human ones- you are human?”

“Ah, yes.”  Sam replied watching to see if that changed their demeanor toward him & Ruby.  If anything it made those around him a bit more at ease.  “And the rest of my family passed away some time ago.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.”  Merida sighed a bit at not being able to investigate his family before lighting up at a thought.  “Draegus might be able to help you with tracing legacies.  He makes a hobby of knowing everyone and each line back a minimum of ten generations or transfers.”

“I'll have to talk to him.”  Sam assured her.

Sam made a mental note that this Draegus might be a potential source of information.  Though he wasn’t sure if he was prepared to go question someone with so little context.  If Draegus really was some sort of living rolodex, he might be able to spot holes in their cover easier than the casual partygoer.

“He likes to hover on the upper tiers watching the show.”  Merida advised as she pointed to the third floor of the general area that Sam had arbitrarily designated as north in his head.

“He's a pervert.”  Bellamor muttered.

“Everyone has their eccentricities.”  Merida attempted to mitigate the negative early impression he & Ruby might be getting, then redirected the conversation to something more lighthearted- in theory.  “How long have you two been together?”

“We…”  Sam hesitated, unsure whether to explain that they weren't romantically involved.

“Five years.”  Ruby answered for him, while taking his arm.

“Oh, lovely.”  Merida lightly clapped her hands, clearly overjoyed for some reason.  “That's a long time for humans, right?”

“It can be.”  Ruby replied in a tone that Sam recognized as her mischievous amusement.

“Any children?”  Bellamor asked.

“No.”  Sam interjected before Ruby could get them into an even deeper hole.

“That’s fine, you still have…”  Merida hesitated, trying to guess at the best magnitude of time in order to end her reassurance.  “years.”

“I doubt we’ll need years- maybe another drink or two.”  Ruby joked as she nodded toward the bar.  Sam had to force himself not to throw her a what-the-fuck face, though Bellamor nearly smiled at the joke.

“If you get the chance, visit the high tiers.”  Bellamor suggested.  “There are several places where you can be alone if you'd prefer some privacy.”

“Thank you, we’ll take advantage of that.”  Ruby shook their hands.  “It's been a pleasure, but I think it’s time for that second drink.”

“The pleasure’s ours.  It's always delightful to meet humans.  You're so fascinating with your...”  Merida waved her hand trying to allude to something she couldn’t articulate.  “quaint charms.”

“We're going to go orient ourselves a bit more, but maybe later we can have a drink together and Sam can tell you about the Dewey Decimal System.”  Ruby doubled down on her caricature of mingling.  Sam subtly elbowed her under the guise of turning as they started to walk away.

“That sounds exciting!”  Merida gave them a small wave goodbye.  “Have fun, you two.  And remember to mind your manners.”

* * *

They found an empty table for two on the edge of the dance floor that was less occupied and sat down.  He wasn’t exactly upset, mostly just thrown by the sudden turn in their cover.  The smile of false innocence on Ruby’s face let him know that she was at least aware she’d taken some pretty big liberties with the situation.

“Come on, how often do we get such low hanging fruit like that?”  She said in her defense.  “This is the first time in a year that I haven’t had to be a cop or fed.”

“Sarcasm only works if people know you're bullshiting.”  Sam observed.

“Who's being sarcastic?  Twenty bucks says she'd love hearing about numbering books.”  Ruby tried to lend a bit more reasonableness to her playing around.  “And don't tell me that you can't talk about that stuff.  I've seen you basically live at a library.”

“I just want to lie to everyone as little as possible.  The last thing we need is to give people a reason to not trust us.”

“We have been together for five years.  Maybe not in the way they're thinking-”

“They think you're a human.”

“I used to be.”  Ruby countered.  “Fuck it.  Them thinking I'm human will probably work in my favor.  It's not just humans that get all touchy about the hellspawn thing.  Just because you're a gentleman about it doesn't mean they all aren't a bag of dicks.”

“You know that I don't care, but maybe watch the cursing while we're in an episode of Regency House Party.”

“Ooh, far reach on that one.”  Ruby commented, then conceded.  “Point taken though.”

“So do we have any idea what's going on?”

“There's a perv on the third floor, who might be able to tell us about people.  How that actually helps us…”  

They both stared at each other in silence for a long while.  Neither of them knew exactly how to proceed.  In all probability they'd just have to go talk to more people in order to collect whatever crumbs of intelligence they could.  There were risks in blindly engaging with these people when they didn't know anything about the organization.  Though Merida had seemed more sympathetic to their ignorant cover rather than suspicious of it.  Regardless of the risks, they had a lot of ground to cover and it wasn't as though they'd be able to learn much just sitting around.

“Excuse me.”  They both turned to see a lanky young man with stringy red hair approach their table.  “I was hoping to introduce myself.  I’m Eddie Dodgson.”

“Sam & Ruby.”  Sam offered.  Eddie nodded to Sam, but picked up Ruby’s hand and kissed the back of it.  Sam found the gestured a bit peeving for some reason, though the way the corner of Ruby’s mouth curled into a smile, she was probably amused.

“Absolutely enchanted.”  Eddie grinned.  “If I'm not mistaken, you're both new here.”

“That we are.”  Ruby replied.  “And you seem like a man on a mission.”

“As astute as you are beautiful.”  He responded, then spotted Sam crossing his arms and took a half step back from Ruby.  “I'm actually here about a professional matter.  You see, my partner & I provide experience enhancement services of a chemical nature.”

“Eddie, are you a drug dealer?”  Ruby could hardly contain her delight at the entire interaction.

“I prefer courteous chemist.  I’m sure you’ll run across my work eventually- I can understand the misconceptions you might have, but I assure you we’re entirely reputable.”  Eddie pulled a business card & small pen out of his pocket and wrote a little note on it.  “My partner, Eloise, is on the fourth floor.  She’ll be happy to find something to your liking, in a more discreet setting.  In the meantime, with affection.”

Eddie placed the card in front of Ruby, then gave a parting half bow before resuming some sort of sales route.  The handwritten note on the card read ‘Complimentary treatment for Sam & Ruby.’  Ruby turned over the card to reveal a small paper sleeve attached to it containing three pairs of different colored pills.  She pointed to the pair of pale green pills that were printed with the text ‘Eat me.’

“You want one?”  Ruby teased.

“When we get out of here.”  Sam glanced around the hall.  “This whole place already feels like a bad trip.”

* * *

Sam watched the crowd.  For the most part everyone went about their business.  Couples danced, occasionally exchanging partners with acquaintances.  Small groups mingled, leaning in closely to whisper comments that elicited soft laughter.  Those closest to the bar seemed to hover, diligently partaking in a dizzying number of colorful beverages.  In many ways he found the whole thing charming, despite the intangible ever-present sense of danger… then he spotted something more tangible.

A pair of men were standing across the hall watching him & Ruby.  Sam reflexively smiled subtly at them, then kept looking around in order to hide his concern.  He pretended to study an ornate spread of pastries on a table roughly twenty feet from the pair, but used his periphery vision to watch the men watching the two of them in return.  

One of the men held himself with a commanding air about him.  He was tall & lean with pale skin stretched over angular features, but somehow the gaunt quality looked good on him.  His black hair had a silver streak cutting across the left side of his head just above the ear.  Sam couldn't get a sense of the man's age or physical ability, but when his mouth moved the other man nodded with an attentiveness that added to the appearance of authority.  The unblinking attention the gaunt figure was giving him & Ruby made Sam feel uneasy.

“There are some people staring at us.”  Sam warned Ruby, but he didn't look back in their direction.  To her credit, she didn't glance around to check.  Instead she stood up and extended her hand to Sam.  “Where are we going?”

“We aren't running, we’re blending.  It's a ball.”  Ruby answered, then added.  “Please tell me that you've been to a school dance or a non-hunter wedding in your life.”

He accepted her hand, then guided her out onto the dance floor.  

“Don't tease me, but I took two ballroom dancing classes at Stanford.  They counted for physical education credit.”  Sam explained.

“It's hard for me to imagine you having a hard time in sports.”

“It was great for meeting girls.”  Sam confessed.  Ruby chuckled at the idea and Sam noticed their observers go back to their business, having been apparently satisfied.

Sam's right hand rested on Ruby's waist as they danced.  She moved closer to him in order to speak with him quietly enough to not be overheard.  His fingertips slid along her soft flesh and settled on her lower back.

“This really is shaping up to be the strangest case we've had.”  She whispered through lips that hinted at a sincere smile.

For a few seconds Sam was just too caught up in the moment to think about the case.  He'd always thought that Ruby's current body was attractive, but in that moment he was struck by how stunningly she was.  It wasn't just the devilishly dark eyes or how her chestnut hair draped & curved accentuating the delicate lines of her neck & shoulders.  Beyond her petite nose or her lips that looked enticingly soft- it was the way Ruby breathed passion & life into the body.  Each subtle smirk or contemplative gaze- it was the way that she was looking up at him, with a grounding reassurance in the vast unknown.

“Are you okay?”  She asked.  “You kinda zoned out there for a second.”

“I'm fine, it's just a lot to process.”  He shook the thought from his mind and tried to regain some composure.  Maintaining a certain amount of confidence was always important in working a cover even if he wasn't directly interacting with anyone besides Ruby.  “It’s so much simpler when all we have to do is run after someone and stab them in the heart.”

“The night is still young.”  She winked.

“I…”  Sam hesitated to ask about something that'd been confusing him since they'd gotten there.  “I’ve- never mind.”

“What?”

“Sorry- I've got to ask, how does that dress stay on?”

“Sheer force of will.”  Ruby replied playfully.  “I was expecting to be asked how the dress comes off.”

“Well, the bar is right over there.”  Sam tilted his head to indicate where she'd gotten her drink.  Ruby smiled, then moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck.  

“You’re gonna love this.”  Her voice was barely audible.  His heart started beating a little faster.  He hoped she couldn't tell that he was getting flustered.  “There’s a pickpocket.  I just saw him lift something out of a woman’s purse.”

“You're kidding?  Can you point me in his direction?”  Here he'd been thinking that the place was probably fairly wholesome on account of the prim & proper aesthetic, but so far they'd heard about a pervert, been solicited by a drug dealer, & observed a thief.  Whatever this place was, he suddenly didn't think Ruby's vocabulary preferences would be the most egregious offense.  He let Ruby take the lead for a second in order to subtly turn them around.  Sam couldn’t pick out any suspicious activity among the crowd before him.  “What am I looking for?”

“See the red haired woman with the copper dress and the tiny purse?  The guy by her with light brown hair- looks like Chris Evans.”  Ruby whispered.

“I see her, but none of the guys look like Chris Evans.”

“Chris Pratt?”  Ruby furrowed her brow trying to remember.  “The one that was in that superhero movie?”

“You aren’t helping.”

“He had telekinesis-”

“I don’t see any guys with light brown hair near her and now you’re just making up movies-”

“You lost track of him?”  Ruby took the lead again, turning them so that she could subtly scan the crowd. 

“I didn’t have track of him to begin with, so I didn’t lose anything.”  Sam countered, though Ruby didn’t seem upset- just slightly more alert.

“Which pocket is the invitation in?”  Ruby candidly eyed down Sam’s front in a move that made him feel a bit warm.  “I don't want to have it get lifted and then find out we need it to leave.”

“My left inner jacket.”

She moved in close to position her body right up against the buttoned seams of his open jacket.  Her hands slid down his chest.  In a smooth motion she pulled the small invitation from his jacket, slid it into her right evening glove, then leaned back to give him some more space.  If he looked closely he could see the edge of the envelope creasing the sleeve of her long black glove, but he had to admit that the inside of her right arm was less of a target than a jacket pocket.  With the invitation safely hidden Ruby relaxed again and her playful smile returned.

“I can't tell you how long it's been since I got to do some sleight of hand.”  Ruby cooed as she returned her hands to rest on his shoulders.

“You're enjoying this a little too much.”

“Alternatively, you aren't enjoying this enough.”  She countered.  “Yes, okay, maybe we're in danger, but that happens all the time.  At least here we get to indulge in some crazy fancy shit while being in danger as opposed to the usual abandoned factory or alleyways.”

“Alleyways I'm comfortable with, this is foreign territory.”

“Sure, but it's cool.”  Ruby tilted her head to the side to indicate a direction.  “There's a guy over there with cat eyes.  Tell me that's not cool.”

“Okay, it's cool.”  He relented.

“There's the hopeless romantic I knew was buried below the book smarts & gratuitous violence.”  Her fingers lightly touched the nape of his neck as they danced.  “That side of you looks good.”

It might've been his imagination, but she leaned in toward him a little more.  Her eyes softened and her smile relaxed her playfulness into something calmer- more content.  His thumb moved slightly, unconsciously caressing the small of her back while pulling her closer.  She started lifting her head up to him as he subtly moved to meet her.  Her eyes lingered on his lips, but suddenly widened in surprise at something behind him.

* * *

“Oh, fuck.”  Ruby exhaled, more unenthusiastic than worried.

Sam let go of her and turned around just in time to see a man on the far side of the hall plummet the last twenty feet to the ground.  Surprisingly, no one screamed at the dull thwack, though a few gasps spread throughout the hall.  There was a minor commotion around the impact site, but not as much as he would’ve expected all things considered.  The orchestra didn’t even falter.  Many of the other guests continued to go about their business unfazed and those who did stop to gawk didn’t seem particular worried.  An androgynous bystander with wings that reminded Sam of a dragonfly moved to hover in the air for a better view while continuing to enjoy zir cocktail.

“He’s dead, right?”  Sam asked Ruby, unsure if he was missing something about what had just happened.

“The guy fell from the top floor.”  Ruby recounted.  “Unless he was an angel or something I’m guessing he’s pretty dead.”

“Did you see if he got pushed or just had too much to drink?”  

Assuming there was a chance of foul play, it would be insane for them to not investigate it.  Based on the casual reactions it was possible that the man's death might be unrelated to the three bodies in the Jefferson County morgue, but the whole thing made Sam uneasy.  God he hoped it was just a fluke.

“I didn't see.”  Ruby groaned quietly.  “You think the killer’s in here?”

“Knowing our luck.  Well, no one is getting yelled at for gawking.”  Sam offered her his arm.  “Let's go check it out.”

They worked their way through the small crowd in order to see the scene.  Ruby squeezed ahead between two people to get a decent view while Sam accidentally collided with another man trying to sneak a peek.  After quickly apologizing, Sam got up to where Ruby was standing.  He could finally get a look at the dead man- that wasn't a blur of black & white tuxedo.  It was a bit hard to make out much of the deceased’s features thanks to him having landed face first.  He was caucasian with dark hair.  There weren’t any obvious indications that he wasn't human, such as claws or wings.  For a moment Sam considered actually searching the body, though there wasn't any jacket on the corpse leaving few places to check and a handful of staff came out of the woodworks to tidy up the mess.

“Check out the guy.”  Ruby said while pointing up to the top floor balcony.

There was a man with an olive complexion, a light grey buzz cut, & stern face leaning against the arm rail.  Based on the staggered layout of the balconies, he was probably where the victim had fallen from.  He was looking over the railing, but wasn't staring at the dead body.  Instead his eyes were scanning the crowd, though he immediately stopped when he spotted Ruby & Sam watching him.  The way the man furrowed his brow while studying them made Sam’s stomach drop.

“I don't know what's going on, but I think we just got deeper in it.”  Sam whispered to Ruby.

“Snaoa says it was Devin.”  A woman in a rose colored gown several feet ahead of them told a pair of onlookers.

“Such a shame, he was a kind spirit.”  A frail man in a top hat & tailed coat commented.  “I suppose his daughter will be taking his card when she matures.”

Sam nudged Ruby and gestured to the group, silently asking her if she'd just heard what he had and was similarly having a conniption.  She stared at him, visibly confused by what he was getting at, though she took a step closer in acknowledgement that he might be onto something.

“Excuse me,”  Sam inserted himself into the gossip.  “are you talking about Devin Ross?”

“Ross… I think that might have been the last name.  It was definitely a human surname.” The frail man replied.

“How about the daughter, do you know her name?”  As soon as Sam asked the follow up question Ruby's eyes widened.

“You mean Kelly?”  A second woman in a plum dress replied.

They'd found a connection, but he wasn't sure how it tied into the picture as a whole.  Kelly Ross, the twelve year old, second victim, now had a connection to the other victims through her father, victim number four.  The adult victims all had something to do with the party.  

Peter Fulmer, the first victim, had dirt from the vacant lot on him, indicating that he'd visited the site and might've attended the party.  He'd managed to travel from London to Southern California in half the time it'd take to fly there- the involvement of magical teleportation spells or whatever was affecting Sam & Ruby could easily explain the inconsistent sightings.  Then there was the third victim, Jeffrey Martens, who had been where they'd found the invitation, making it likely that he'd attended the party in the past or at least intended to go.  Lastly, Devin Ross had died at the party itself.

“Devin talks- well, used to talk about her all the time.  He was planning on gifting her his membership when she turns 25.”  The first woman explained.  “I'm not sure they’ll let a minor in here.”

“The card just won't work for her until she's older.”  A second woman informed them.  “Greskin’s pup had the same thing happen.”

“I didn't know she had a child.”  The first woman touched her chest to help convey her shock.

“Rumor is he thought the House was an urban legend and burnt the card at her wake.”  The second woman continued to gossip.

“That's tragic.”  The frail man said as he respectfully removed his top hat, inadvertently revealing a central ridge of stubby white horns on his balding head.

“The... pup,”  Sam felt a little strange using the term without knowing whether it was slang or if the child belonged to a species that had pups.  “he couldn't get a replacement card?”

“There are no new cards.”  The second woman looked at Sam as though he'd said something incredibly dumb.  “What sort of establishment do you think this is?”

“Sorry, I was just clarifying.  That's what I thought, but I overheard some people talking and must've misunderstood what they said.”  Sam tried to play off the gaff.

“Probably some of the vagabonds that crawl the rafters trying to break the game again.”  The frail man speculated.

“People come here with many different purposes in mind, some of them have wicked senses of humor.”  The woman in the plum dress observed.  “Personally, I can’t imagine coming here intending to deceive.  It seems so unnecessary & dangerous-”

“It’d be a foolish thing to give oneself a goal that’s so fickle and dependant on the participation of others.  Set your agenda simply, that’s what I always say.”  The older man said in self-congratulations.  “Granted, I don’t dabble in the activities of those hedonist on the upper tiers.”

“Young man, let me give you some advice.”  The first woman told Sam pointed.  “Beware the drunkards and the ascent to sin.  They might draw you in with big talk & tales, but you’ll just end up turned around and losing your path.”

“Uh, I'll be careful.”  Sam replied uncertainly.  “I appreciate the advice.”

He was beyond confused by the last half of the conversation.  Based on her uncharacteristic silence, Ruby was also at a complete loss.  All this knowing talk of sin, agendas, & deception felt like it should be investigated, but honestly he was so out of his element that he wasn't sure how to question the group without coming off as alarmingly ignorant.  He was just about to disengage himself & Ruby from the conversation when there was a murmur in the crowd that drew everyone's attention.

* * *

A supple woman with ample curves, a dark complexion, violet eyes, & coils of black hair that went down to her waist walked with unbridled confidence toward the main stage.  She wore an amber colored velvet gown and a necklace containing at least a dozen walnut sized purple gems.  At first Sam thought that she was carrying a large black boa, but when it flicked back & forth he realized that she had just wrapped a long tail over her arms.

She ascended the stairs to the stage where the orchestra was playing.  When she was front & center, the music began to fade.  The audience turned their full attention to her.

“Carsilla here, Mistress of Ceremonies, Cracker of Whips, & Holder of Chips.  A message from the masters: Don't mind the mess, but as always do mind your manners.”  She paused a beat to let the instruction hang over them as something akin to a threat, then her demeanor brightened again.  “Now a gift for our guests, the House presents the Birds of Paradise!”

She gestured to the opposite end of the hall where seven gold & crystal stages roughly eight feet in diameter had appeared when no one was paying attention.  Each stage was topped with two people in various gender pairings.  The performers were barely clad in fine gold chains, black feathers, & red gems.  The women carried pairs of large red feather fans- Sam realized with a start that it was a fucking burlesque show.

“I think I need another drink.”  Ruby told Sam.

“They had scotch, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank god.”  He muttered.

They walked over to the bar as the orchestra started playing a tango.  Ruby ordered them both a scotch neat and toasted Sam before throwing hers back with enthusiasm.  Sam sipped his drink while scanning the room.  On one end of the hall a body was being cleaned up off the floor.  On the other end over a dozen nearly nude people were dancing for the crowd’s entertainment.

“I don't understand this place.”  Sam sighed.  

“It's definitely… something.”  Ruby agreed.

“So, that Carsilla looks like the closest thing we've got to a person in charge here.”  He pointed out, though he wasn't exactly sure what they should do with that information.

“I grab her and you punch?”  Ruby suggested.

“Funny.”  Sam finished his drink.  “That man mentioned people trying to ‘break the game.’  I think we need to meet more of the players and learn the rules.”

“Ready for some ‘big talk & tales?’”  Ruby murmured as she reluctantly waved off a bartender’s offer of another scotch.  “I think it's time we find our drunkards and ascend to some sin.”

“Want to start with a pervert?”

“Always.”


	3. Chapter Three

Once they worked their way through the unexpectedly complex series of staircases in order to reach the third floor, they had to navigate several corridors to access the north side of the floor where Draegus’ balcony was located.  Occasionally, Sam would stop to ask a passerby for directions.  To their surprise, it seemed like everyone they asked was familiar with the living personnel archive.  They found him standing alone on one of the smaller balconies that overlooked the dance floor.

Draegus was a portly man with distinctly reptilian flesh around his eyes, nose, & mouth.  Instead of ears he had small holes that overflowed with orange hair.  He tottered around, leaning from side to side trying to get a better view at something on the dance floor before turning around at the sound of their approach.  When he saw Sam & Ruby his eyes lit up and an unabashed smile spread across his face.

“Oh goodness, you're the new guests.  This is so exciting.”  Draegus shook Sam's hand overly enthusiastically.  “I'm Draegus.  Please, please tell me everything there is to know about your family.  What's your name, species, house- Do you study genealogy or pride structure-”

“Um, I'm Sam Campbell, human, & I don't know what you were just talking about.”  Sam understood the question about genealogy just fine, but he opted to err on the side of ignorance with the apparently cordial man.

“I'm sorry, my boy.  I get caught up sometimes.”

“Um, I don't mind telling you what I know about my family, but it's not a lot.”  Sam carefully retrieved his hand while trying to get himself into the appropriate mindset for such extensive improvisation.  “But I'd also to like to ask you a few questions, if you'd be willing to share some of your insights with us.”

“Nothing would make me happier.”  Draegus replied.  He was clearly overjoyed to have someone treat him with more respect than they'd observed in Bellamor & presumably others.  The way Draegus lingered away from the crowds, he probably wasn't used to having a friendly audience.

“I heard there weren't very many human members.”  Sam pushed his own agenda in the hopes of getting a bit more context.

“Oh yes.  The World Wars seem to have ended many lines, especially for the humans.  It's quite a shame.  Only maybe thirty humans have been in regular attendance over the last decade.”  Draegus shook his head in disappointment.  “I've warned Miss Lynn to find herself a partner before we end up losing another line.”

“Miss Lynn, she's a human?”  Sam asked politely.  He wasn't particularly interested in her since he was trying to learn more about two male victims.  Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how to narrow his questions to only male humans without potentially piquing Draegus’ curiosity.

“Oh yes, she's actually here if you'd like to meet her.”  Draegus gestured over the railing at the red haired woman in a copper dress dancing below.

“That sounds great.”  Sam jumped at the opening.  “I'd be interested in meeting some other humans.  Would you mind telling us about the ones who've been attending recently?”

“Certainly.”  Draegus said as he sat down on a chair with wooden arms meticulously carved to look like dragons.  He gestured for Sam & Ruby to sit down on a matching loveseat.

“If you don't mind, I'll listen from the arm rail.”  Ruby declined the offered seat and took a few steps to where she could look over the dance floor, presumably looking for suspicious activity.  “It's really a sight.”

“I completely agree.”  The short creature beamed up at her.  “For years I've been coming here to simply enjoy the spectacle.”

Sam sat down on the loveseat, resigning himself to what would inevitably be more information than he actually wanted.  Aside from trying to get a better sense of what they'd gotten themselves into, he was mostly trying to find out anything he could about the victims.  Unfortunately, he couldn't just ask about the victim by name or else he'd betray more familiarity than he should have.  So he sat through what seemed like an hour of mind numbing gossip before the first victim’s name even came up.

“Peter Fulmer, he's been attending for the last five years.”  Draegus said, catching both Sam & Ruby’s attention.  “I personally think he's unbearable and I'm not the only one.”

“What do you mean?”  Sam encouraged.

“No one can stand him.  He’s never brought a companion and never interacts with the other guests.  No one really knows much about him since he keeps to himself.  He just spends all his time on the fourth floor.”

“The fourth floor?”

“You haven't been to the fourth floor yet?”  Draegus smiled a bit before continuing.  “Fulmer doesn't engage in the true spirit of this venue.  Yes, there are indulgences, but the beauty of this place is that species of all types can intermingle.”

“A few minutes ago someone got intermingled off the edge of a balcony.”  Ruby commented.

“Poor Devin- you don't think someone pushed him, do you?”

“Would that really be far fetched?”

“I don't know why anyone would want him dead.”  Draegus rejected the idea.  “He seemed like a nice fellow.  He's been coming here for almost twenty years.  I suppose that's one less human for now, a shame indeed.  Actually, I think I may have covered all our human guests- except you of course.  Please tell me about yourself.”

“Um, there's someone else I was wondering about- if you don't mind.”  Sam evaded.  He started describing the man that had been intently watching him & Ruby on the dance floor.  “He was tall and gaunt, pale skin, black hair with a white streak-”

“Ah, that's Cortizi.  He's a ljósálfar.”

“A what?”

“One of the elvish species.”  Draegus elaborated.  “He's a wealthy fellow, tends to have a little entourage, popular with the women- a bit full of himself.  The sort of person whose ambition makes him attractive to nearly everyone less wise than him.  You'd think that there wouldn't be many people left in the category, but people still manage to surprise you.”

“You don't get along with many people I take it?”  Ruby asked in a move that Sam found a bit reckless, but their stout host didn't seem to mind.

“I prefer to think that others don't get along with me.”  Draegus reframed the situation with a little shrug.  “I've come for a good show and most guests don't much care for the thought of entertaining me- don't get me wrong, other guests are used or users.  I just admit to my preferences.”

“Used how?”

“Oh, there are many ways.  Never forget that everyone comes here with an agenda.  It’s not all fun & games, it's also a place for making connections and engaging in deals- not all of which might be equally beneficial to all parties.”

“What sorts of deals?”

“Unfortunately or most fortunately, I haven't been privy to those intimate interactions for many years.  As I said, I prefer to watch from afar.”  Draegus stood up from his chair and stretched, cracking his aging joints.  “If you don't mind, I think we may have to discuss your lineage after a short break.  It's time I locate something to eat & drink.  All this talk has left me parched.”

“There's one last thing I'm curious about.” Sam said, trying to get whatever they could from their best source of intel so far.  “Do you know what species Merida Vordune is?”

“Species, no.  She’s an Odalen.  They're an order of spell casters that exchange their souls & memories for power & immortality.  They can be almost any sort.  Personally, I find them all to be a bit unstable.  I imagine there's something about the bargain that leaves them prone to madness- or at least snobbery.”  Draegus thought for a moment, then added.  “Merida is pleasant enough, but stability of the mind is not her strength.”

The strange little man gave them both a moderately successful bow in parting, then tottered off in search of refreshments.  To Sam's surprise Draegus hadn't mentioned Jeffrey Martens, the third victim.  He wasn't sure how to ask about a person he had no reason to know the name of, so he hadn't bothered to bring him up as the last question.

“He didn't mention Martens.”  Sam observed once Draegus was out of sight.

“Maybe he didn't know Martens?  It sounded like he hasn't been talking to people recently.  His intel could be out of date.”  Ruby pursed her lips, unconvinced about the completeness of Draegus’ knowledge.

“I don't know.  This place looks like it feeds off gossip and Draegus wasn't even shy about it- I guess Martens could've been new like us and not really well known.”  Sam theorized, then started reviewing the few details they knew about him.  “He'd been missing for three years prior to being found… that seems too strange to be a coincidence.”

“What if Martens wasn't a human?”  Ruby mused.  “Vampires & werewolves mysteriously disappear after turning all the time.  And the way Draegus was so casual about an elf & an immortal witch, I wouldn't be surprised if he finds vamps & the like mundane enough to not mention.”

“I checked Martens’ body for fangs & silver reactivity.  His blood didn't smell like demon-”  Sam stopped caught up in a thought, then shook his head.  “The stab wound had six points, like someone getting stabbed with an angel blade twice at slightly different angles.”

“You think our vic was an angel?”

“Maybe.  That'd explain why Draegus didn't know Martens.  If we only IDed the meatsuit, the real victim could've been someone else altogether.”

“Were there ash wings in the crime scene photos?”  Ruby had been busy talking to one of the cops about Martens’ old missing persons file while Sam had looked over the photos.

“He was on black asphalt.”  Sam & Ruby exchanged an uncomfortable glance at the ambiguity surrounding the third victim.

“Whatever our third victim was, if the murder weapon was an angel blade maybe the killer’s an angel?”  Ruby mused.

“God, I hope not.”  Sam sighed.  “I don't know how we’re supposed to fight one without our own angel blade, let alone without any weapons.”

The reminder of their unarmed state made the corners of Ruby's lips curled down and her eyes rolled.  She didn't like the possibility any more than him, despite the slight advantage she had over humans when it came to combat.  Angels were a whole other tier of enemy that could be handling under normal circumstances, but this was far from normal.  Granted this place seemed to have more than its share of powerful creatures everywhere they went.  Based on what Draegus had said, odds were better than normal that any given person was inhuman.  Regardless of the species of their suspect, they had to keep searching for the killer.

“So victim one-”

“Fulmer.”

“Was an asshole, who hung out on the fourth floor.  Victim three, maybe-Martens, might've been an angel.  Victim two was the daughter of victim four- Devin Ross, who was liked by most people.”  Ruby recapped.  “I get that they're all connected to this place, but I'm not really seeing more of a pattern than that.”

“Why kill the girl?”  Sam wondered aloud while watching to make sure nobody was in earshot.  “She hadn't even been here before.”

“She would come here though.  After her dad was dead, she'd get his invitation- maybe she couldn't use it for close to a decade, but she was on the list.”

“Devin Ross didn't have any other kids and the mom was dead.”  Sam mused, brain searching for a narrower connection between the victims.  “The first victim, Fulmer, didn't ever bring a date- this place is full of couples.  Maybe he was single?”

“Sounds kinda like it.”  Ruby agreed, the raised an eyebrow.  “What're you getting at?”

“There isn't any next of kin for the victims.  Killing Kelly before her dad guaranteed that.  Fulmer's emergency contact that the police notified was his personal assistant.  And if Martens really was an angel- who’s an angel's next of kin?”  Sam speculated.  “Whoever the killer is, maybe they're ending legacies for some reason?”

“Well that's great.”  Ruby groaned.  “Now we have even more people who might want to kill us.”

“Wha- fuck.”  Sam covered his face with his hand.  He had told Merida and however many people had been eavesdropping that there wasn't anyone left in his family and that Ruby & he didn't have any kids.  The fact that they weren't even real members probably didn't matter as long as everyone else there assumed they were.

“Even if we have some flimsy commonality connecting our victims, that doesn't give us a motive.”  Sam pointed out, suddenly extra motivated to find the killer.

Fulmer was supposed disliked by some of the guests, but Devin Ross had been well spoken of by everyone they'd interacted with.  Though, even if the killer didn't get along with the victims, that was rarely the sole motivation to murder someone.  There was likely something more at work beyond simple anger manifested.

“How much do you think an invitation here is worth?”  Ruby asked suggestively.  “We haven't paid anything for quality entertainment & booze.”

“The way everyone’s been talking about the invitations getting passed down and not being replaceable, I bet they exist in perpetuity.”  Sam replied, then clarified.  “They last forever- indefinitely.  That woman mentioned some pup burning one so I guess they can be destroyed.”

“An instantaneous ticket to a safe- well, sorta safe location.”

Everyone they’d spoken with had seemed very happy to have membership in whatever organization ran this location.  He supposed that Ruby & he were experiencing the environment with several mood killing factors.  When all the nerve-wracking ignorance & danger was taken out of the picture the place was probably pretty fun.  Also, as Draegus had pointed out, the potential social connections had their own significant value.  He could see where someone might kill for access.

“Witnesses said someone was searching Jeffrey Martens, the third victim, but was scared off.  Fulmer, the first victim, didn't have an invitation on him.  Devin’s jacket was missing-”

“You think the killer stole his jacket before he fell?”  Ruby nodded in agreement with the guess.  “Latest working theory: the killer’s ending legacies and stealing the invitations.”

“Flaw in the theory-”

“Great.  What now?”

“People here already have access to this place.”

“Only half of them.”  Ruby pointed out.  “Maybe we have a +1 looking to upgrade?”

“There are more than one invitations missing.”  Sam reminded her.  “We need to find out more about these invitations and how they work- see if two is better than one.”

“Also, I guess we really should watch out for someone trying to kill us.”  Ruby said, then added with false optimism.  “At least we have bait if we need it.”

“I'd rather have a weapon.”  Sam glanced at her.  “And finding a way out of here is starting to climb the list of priorities.”

“A nice place like this probably has a pretty big library and with all this magic around, I’m guessing they’ll have some books on conjuration.  That's probably the kind of magic that brought us here.”  Ruby tapped the inside of her long evening glove where the invitation was safely hidden.  “I want to give whatever spell got us here a look over, see if I can bust the door open and figure out what makes these tick.”

* * *

After a few minutes of asking around Sam & Ruby found out that there was a library on the second floor.  As they started descending the staircase, they spotted the stern looking man who'd been staring at them from the balcony after Devin Ross’ death.  He was going up the same staircase that they were going down.  All three of them hesitated for a moment at the sight of each other.  Sam considered taking Ruby's arm and redirecting them back from where they came, but it’d be too obvious that something was wrong.  The man seemed to come to a similar conclusion because he reluctantly proceeded as well.

“Luz.”  The man introduced himself as they reached each other on the landing, though his tone gave the distinct impression that the pleasantry was a chore more than anything else.

“Sam.”

“Ruby.”

“You two are new here.”  Luz observed with a raised eyebrow and a scowl he was failing to suppress.

“Yes.”  Sam replied.  “Is that a problem?”

“Not necessarily.”  Luz didn't relax in the slightest.  “Interesting timing for new guests to arrive.  Did you know Devin?”

“No.”  Sam didn't want to elaborate for fear of giving any incriminating information.  “You?”

“We weren't friends by any means.”

“Is it unusual for people to die here?”  Sam tried to get something useful out of the guy.  “From the way everyone is acting, it doesn't seem like a big deal.”

“Sometimes people die.  It's an unfortunate side effect of the freedoms you get.  This place is full of extreme tastes and every once in awhile a person goes too far.”  Luz’s tone was cold and surprisingly unmoved considering they were discussing a man who'd just fallen to his death.

“Are you talking about the dead person or the guy who pushed him?”  Ruby asked.

“Did you see anyone up there?”  Luz looked at her with intense interest.

“Aside from you?  No.”  Ruby shot back, leading to several seconds of silence before Luz relaxed subtly.

“Keep your eyes open.”  Luz leaned forward to speak quieter to her.  “For all its glitter, there are plenty of dark corners in this place full of dangerous things.”

“I think you'd be surprised how little the darkness bothers us.”

“We’ll see.”  Luz straightened up, then extended his hand to Sam.  “I need to attend to another matter, but I expect we'll run into each again.”

“Undoubtedly.”  Sam said, grateful to have the strangely tense conversation come to an end.

“Remember to mind your manners.”  Luz told Ruby as he took her hand and kissed the back of it.  “And watch your back.”

“Likewise.”

Sam & Ruby continued down the second flight of stairs a bit faster than the first.  Sam could tell from her body language that Ruby was similarly offput by the brief interaction with Luz.  In general the pair of them were on the same page- though their methodology or philosophies of violence often enough may have been polar corners of that same page.  

“That guy’s on my shit list.”  Ruby told Sam as soon as they got to the second floor and well out of earshot of Luz.  “I'm calling it right now, I will punch him in the face before we leave here.”

“Just because he's kinda rude doesn't mean he's our killer.”

“I was thinking the punch in the face is independent of the whole murder thing, but you've gotta admit he was up there and said he wasn't friends with the vic.”

“I'm just saying, let's not start pointing fingers yet.”  Sam advised.  “We’ve still got a whole lot of questions that need answering.”

“Namely: Where the fuck are we?  And how do we get out?”

“Does ending legacies do something?  Are these invitations actually worth anything?  Or are we completely off base?”  Sam added.

“Honestly, I'm more concerned about getting out of this game of Clue than winning it.”  Ruby shrugged only slightly regretful of her self-interested motivation.

“I'll take any solid intel we can get at this point.”  He admitted.  “If it happens to include a way out, I'm not about to be upset.”

* * *

They found the library in the southern wing of the second floor.  It was only one story tall, but the curving carved filigree on signs & the edging of the bookcases reminded Sam of Beauty & the Beast more than the U.S. Library of Congress.  He wasn't surprised to see that the library was unlit and empty when they arrived- after all there were drugs, alcohol, & dancing just minutes away.  Neither Sam nor Ruby could figure out how to illuminate the dozens of wall sconces, so they each grabbed a handheld lantern by the entrance and started searching.

“Ruby.”  Sam pointed toward a shelf after about ten minutes of wandering while Ruby went about locating the appropriate tomes on conjuration.  One of the books further down the arcana aisle was protruding slightly from the rest, having been hastily returned.  It didn't have dust on it the way most of the other books did.  When he pulled it out he noticed that the bottom corner of the back cover had a blood stain on it that couldn’t have been more than a day old.  “Somebody else has been researching spells.”

“Semi-fresh blood, they were probably doing more than researching.  Let me see that.”  Ruby gave Sam the small book of conjugation magic she’d been reviewing in exchange for the one he'd found.  She walked over to a nearby reading table, placed the book’s spine on the table, then released both covers at the same time.  The book fell open to the page that had been most recently creased.  She picked the book back up and began skimming the text.  “It’s a ritual to unbind magic from objects.”

“Unbind?”

“If you've got a cloak that makes you fly or something, nine times out of ten it's just a spell of flight bound to a fairly normal cloak.  With the right rituals you can pull that magic out of the cloak and immediately put it somewhere else- like into some shiny new boots or if you're careful you can bind it to a person.”

“How come I've never heard of this?”  There were so many relics and magical items he could have seen benefiting by being converted to a different physical manifestation.

“The unbinding process damages the spell- they get a lot less effective or more volatile.”  She explained.  “You're asking for those shiny new boots of flying to only move your feet.  Or maybe they only get you a few inches off the ground.”

“Well if it screws up the spell, then maybe whoever was reading this was trying to break something-”  Sam stopped and gestured for Ruby to stay quiet.  He could hear the door to the library open.

They extinguished their lights and grabbed the two books before crouching down on the floor to hide behind the tables & chairs.  As the man walked toward them, Ruby was forced to crawl forward to stay out of view.  Sam tucked the two spell books into his jacket pocket, to free up his hand, which he offered for Ruby's stability.  He leaned back to give her some space, but she was still pressed awkwardly to him, one arm next to his ribs, one arm between his legs, dress riding up slightly thanks to the positioning straight out of a game of Twister.

Luz was walking down the aisle of magical books.  He stopped in front of the shelf that was missing the book containing the unbinding spell.  When he noticed the book was gone he looked around suddenly.  He took a few steps in their direction.

Ruby leaned in closer to Sam, trying to hide herself.  Her breasts were nearly touching his chest.  Sam looked at her and worried that her feet might be visible if Luz moved any closer.  Sam wrapped an arm around her thighs and pulled her even tighter to him.  She wobbled slightly at the unexpected movement, but stabilized herself by wrapping an arm around Sam's neck.  They were pressed together in the shadow of the table.  He could feel her heart pounding just like his own.  They heard Luz take another step, before the footsteps turned and hurried out of the library.

The pair took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief, then Ruby & Sam both turned their heads to look at each other.  They were so close together that their lips were just an inch or two apart.  They stared at each other half expectantly.  Ruby's eyes flicked down at his lips, but in his shock at how much he wanted to kiss her he hesitated a beat too long.  She glanced down at the floor, then climbed off of him.  For a moment he thought about trying to stop her- reaching up to cup her cheek with his hand, but fear got the better of him and she was standing before he could gather his courage to try.

“I can probably use these books to do a few spellcraft tests on the invitation, though I’m gonna need some reagents.”  Ruby said as she readjusted her dress.  “This place seems pretty lax, but a lot of reagents are borderline contraband in most circles.”

“I seem to recall a charismatic young chemist mentioning a partner on the fourth floor.”  Sam suggested, trying to refocus on the case.  Eddie had mentioned that his partner Eloise would be able to discreetly handle requests.  With a little luck she could provide them with raw components rather than just refined intoxicants.

“Let's go find ourselves a drug dealer.”  Ruby gestured toward the library exit, then stifled a chuckle.

“What?”

“Hanging out in the library and looking for a drug dealer.  Is this what every Saturday night was like for you in college?”  Ruby teased as they walked back out into the hallway.

“Please, I never went out looking for drugs.”  Sam scoffed, offended by the idea.  “I tutored my weed guy.  He delivered.”


	4. Chapter Four

It seemed that Eloise's operation traveled around the fourth floor, popping up at random locations in order to avoid becoming a nuisance or the target of some official intervention.  Eddie’s discretion while giving his sales pitch earlier had indicated that their business wasn’t exactly in compliance with the House rules- if any truly existed.  Yet the way everyone seemed to know who Eddie & Eloise were, it felt more & more that there was a laissez-faire quality to the strange environment.  Sam wasn’t sure if he found that comforting as an interloper or alarming as the potential target of a killer.

As they walked through one of the fourth floor corridors looking for Eloise, Sam heard a rustling & panting sound.  At first he thought it was a struggle, but when he & Ruby turned a corner they discovered the source was something quite different.  A man & a woman were intertwined on the end of a couch in a nearby alcove.  The man’s pants were around his knees, but his crotch was hidden by the still dress-clad woman straddling him. The couple ignored Sam & Ruby, completely engrossed in each other.

“Oh that’s definitely fucking.”  Ruby whispered, visibly enjoying the show.

“We should go, come on.”

“But if we go, we won’t know who gets cum on.”

Sam turned around and gave her an unamused look at the bad joke.  With a half shrug, Ruby followed him down the hall.  It didn't take much more exploring before they found an antechamber with seven naked men & women engaging in group sex.  The four men were wearing stylized silver & gold masks alluding to different animals.  One of the women straddling a partner had large feathery silver wings protruding from her back.  Despite his normal impulse to give the group their privacy, Sam gawked for a moment at the woman's wings as they rocked in time with her body.

“Okay, this place just took an Eyes Wide Shut kind of turn.”  Ruby commented next to him.

“Maybe we're on the wrong floor.”  Sam pulled his attention away from the dizzying mass of flesh, then gently led Ruby away with him.

“Eddie said she was up here.  I guess we know what all the upper tiers snickering was about.  I mean I'm pretty sure this counts as ascending to sin?”  Ruby suggested.  “Do you want to keep looking around here or try another wing?”

“We're almost done with this hallway.  Let's just finish it and check the eastern wing off the list.”  Sam decided.  “Eloise has got to be around here somewhere.”

They'd only made it a few dozen feet further when a woman walked out of one of the rooms into the hallway and leaned against the wall next to the doorframe.  She was naked except for a black silk robe that was completely open in the front and hung off her shoulders.  Her skin was a dull peach color with stripes of grey that grew short lilac hair.  The ribbons of grey flesh & lilac hair seemed to originate at her scalp and wandered down to accentuate her crotch.  She took a rolled cigarette from her robe, lit it, then smoked as she watched Sam & Ruby with eyes that were barely more than slits.  With a little nod and grabbing gesture, she directed them to come over to her.

“You’ve got some butterflies.”  She studied them as she exhaled smoke that smelled like honey.  “New here?”

“Yeah, this is our first time.”

“Tawntette.”  The woman introduced herself.  

“I'm Ruby, this is Sam.”  Ruby offered.

She shifted, unconsciously making her robe open a bit more.  It was taking a significant amount of Sam's concentration to not stare at her naked body.  Sure she was attractive, but more than anything he wanted to know what the full pattern of her stripes looked like.

“You two look like a fun time.”  Tawntette commented.  Her face turned to speak to Ruby, but her eyes lingered on Sam.  “Feel like sharing?  I promise to give him back in one piece.”

“We’re actually looking for Eloise.”

“Definitely a party then.  If you want a kick, I might be able to help.”  Tawntette pulled another joint from her robe and offered it to them.

“Maybe later, we need to talk to her.”

“Ah, she moves around.  Here, let me play chaperone for you on this wing- otherwise half the guys here’ll try to fuck you.”  Tawntette pulled the robe a bit tighter around herself, then started walking down the hall.  “If you want your kicks you'll find them here.  As always, mind your manners.  You can do anything you want as long as you've got consent.  The House maintains a dozen or so professionals, but knowing it's their job sort of ruins the fun.”

“Courteous hosts.”  Ruby commented.

“That room is exclusively males.”  Their guide explained.  “Across the hall was claimed by all females a few years ago.”

“Years ago?”  Sam asked.  The thought of territories being claimed by a gender reminded him of clubhouses.

“Come & go at will, but there's almost always someone around.”  Tawntette kept moving.  “Most of the larger rooms up here are for groups.  If the door is unlocked it means it's an open invitation.  Are you two into role playing or domination?”

“We like it rough.”  Ruby answered, earning an annoyed glare from Sam.

“There are three full dungeons in the back.  Chains & everything.”

“Suspension harness?”  Ruby asked.

“I can show you how to use it.”

“Maybe later.”  Sam said, trying to diffuse the situation.  “We should really find Eloise.”

“Fair enough.”  Tawntette nodded, then continued the tour.  “There are a handful of small private rooms down there if you just want to keep it the two of you.”

“We saw some people fucking in the hall earlier.”  Ruby stated.

“Yeah, that happens all the time up here.  If you're an exhibitionist or just can't make it to a free room go ahead.  Proper etiquette is to just ignore you.”

“Noted.”

“Don't go down there.”  Tawntette warned while gesturing down a side corridor.  “There was a fight that broke out and security locked down one of the rooms.”

“What happened?”  Sam asked, intrigued by what counted as an offense in this sort of environment.

“Rumor is someone was setting up for a good time- flowers, candles- more than your usual fucking for fun.  Anyway, some drunk wanted that room even though it was taken.  The drunk barged in and a fight broke out.  Nobody was hurt that bad, bumps & bruises- well, the drunk got a broken arm & serious concussion.  Trying to get into a locked room isn’t enough to really break your buttress, but the drunk did get booted.”  Tawntette took a puff from her cigarette, then looked back to them.  “So two lessons for you novices: Don't force a locked door.  And even if you lock your door, you really shouldn't be up here if don't want to risk being found out.”

“Found out?”

“Half the creatures in here have something going on below the surface- most of the ones with things to hide stay to the lower tiers.  They’ll enjoy their play at sophistication, but up here it's harder to keep up the act.”  She put her hand on her waist, letting her robe fall open again.  “Up here we don't keep secrets well and we don't do coy.  Tell me what you want and either I'll do it or I'll send you on your way.  So what do you two want?”

Sam stared at her for a moment, trying to get a read on the strange woman.  The way she'd shifted to address the deeper topic of truth threw him.  She had tipped her hand slightly, showing a more thoughtful person that he'd initially expected.  Her directness was a bit disarming in a place of more superficial focus.

“We want to know more about what goes on around here.”  Sam took the chance on trusting her.  She studied him for a moment, then nodded slightly.

“Follow me.”  

Tawntette led them down the hallway to the third door on the left.  She tried the doorknob, which was unlocked.  Inside was a king sized bed that was already occupied by a man & woman fucking.  The woman glanced over at them for a moment, but ignored them when she realized that Tawntette was leading Sam & Ruby with purpose to a walk-in closet on the far side of the room.  Once inside, Tawntette pushed aside a rack full of costumes & sex toys in order to expose the wall.  She pressed on it, making a hidden door swing in.

“There are passages all over the House.”  She explained as they entered the dimly lit narrow corridor.  Compared to the gaudy appearance of the rest of the complex, the passage seemed uncomfortably utilitarian.  “The staff use them to get around, but they mostly stick to the lower levels as a courtesy.”

“Do many people know about these?”  Sam asked.

“As if any of these people ever bothered to wonder how things actually work around here.”  She scoffed.  “Yes there's magic, but it's not limitless.”  

Tawntette guided them down several turns, then stopped.  With a look back to them she gestured for them to be quiet.  The three of them walked another twenty feet or so before she pointed to several points on a passage wall where light was shining through.  They were peepholes.  Sam leaned down to take a look.

It was the sealed bedroom where the fight had occurred.  A small table next to the bed had been knocked over.  There were some partially used black candles laying on the ground.  A decent sized blood stain marked the hardwood floor at the foot of the bed.  Shriveled & dry flower petals were scattered about and crushed in the tussle.  Sam tried to spot anything that might be out of the ordinary, but it just looked like your routine crime of passion scene.

Once they'd had a few moments to peek, she led them back out to the hallway.   After showing them through the whole eastern wing, she escorted them back to where they'd initially met.  Tawntette held out the last bit of her joint to them as a parting gift.  Sam declined right away, but Ruby debated it for a moment before joining Sam in his sobriety.

“I'm planning on staying here for another two days before returning to the real world.”  Tawntette commented.  “Hopefully, I’ll see you again before then.”

“Tawntette, if you don't mind me asking, where are you from?”  Sam asked, too caught up by his curiosity.  “I've never seen your species before.”

“I’d been surprised if you had.  I’m an approdite.  We exist on the transmaterial plane, like zanna or echoes.”

“You're incorporeal?”  He was trying to wrap his head around how she'd interacted with the hidden doorway in the closet.

“Yes & no.  On the material plane you can't see or hear me except in very rare circumstances, but I can influence you.”  Tawntette grinned.  “My people feed on the emotions of most material species.”

“Material species?”

“If you ask real nice I can peel off a fraction of your…”  Tawntette touched Sam's chest and her hand faded into his torso.  He could feel a warmth probing around near his heart.  “lots of fear, and guilt- mostly fear.  It's not all bad in here though, the excitement, the-”

She withdrew her hand from him and smiled knowingly.  He wasn't sure what she'd picked up on, but he'd nervously glanced over at Ruby just before Tawntette had stopped.

“I can read your emotions, but not your girlfriend’s.”  Tawntette nodded to Ruby.  “Demons aren't a material species.”

“That's a cute trick.”  Ruby commented.

“If you really want to see a cute trick,”  Tawntette’s eyes candidly moved up & down Ruby's body.  “I can make you feel all sorts of things even without my powers.”

“Raincheck.”  Ruby groaned with what Sam suspected was some sincerity.

“Two days.”  Tawntette held up two fingers, then moved them in a suggestive fashion as she walked toward one of the rooms.  “You know where to find me.”

* * *

“Did it seem like something was off in that room?”  Ruby mused once Tawntette had gone back into the bedroom.

“The crime scene?”  Sam thought for a moment.  “It looked like 99% of crime scenes I've seen- minus a body.”

“I can't put my finger on it.”  Ruby pursed her lips.  “Mind if we take a closer look from the outside?  I want to see if there’s any sign about how the door got busted in the first place.”

“Sure.”  They were still looking for Eloise, but a quick detour during their exploration wasn’t even an inconvenience.  Their intel wasn’t remotely actionable, so indulging hunches & curiosity had more merit than usual.  After checking the door, they’d find Eloise to see about some reagents, then find a quiet place for Ruby to examine the invitations.

“It's like this whole area is drugs & sex.”  Ruby observed after they passed the third couple having sex in the hallway.

“So much for the elegance of the place.”

“I mean, if they're as stuck as we are, then there's bound to be a good amount of fucking.”  Ruby commented.  “It's a party after all- that's half the point of a good party.”

“I guess I missed all the good parties.”  Sam muttered.

“You've never gotten into it at a party?”  She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I mean, I've made out, but nothing serious.”

“Oh Sammy,”  Ruby gently pet his dress shirt right between his pecs.  “you need a little more excitement in your life.”

“Trapped in a combination grand ball & orgy full of non-humans with a serial killer feels like all the excitement I really need.”  He countered, though he honestly felt like all things considered he wasn't as heavy hearted as he might otherwise be.  

At least he had good company.  Castiel probably would've caused a scene within the first few minutes and Dean might've ditched him for Tawntette.  Ruby was sticking with him and at least trying to make it fun.  She just had a way of turning insanity into adventure.  That was one of the things he loved about her- liked about her.  His mind hiccuped on the thought, but barely had time to dwell on it before Ruby slid her hand up his chest while looking up at him with almost hunger in her eyes.  She softly chewed her bottom lip as her index finger hooked over his bow tie pulling his head down to her more.  He could feel a heat building in him at the thought of kissing her… more than kissing her.

“Then you need to embrace the excitement.”  She whispered.

Sam leaned in to kiss her, but stopped a few inches short when he saw Cortizi walking quickly through an intersection several yards further down the hall.  Cortizi’s demeanor was horribly tense for someone who was walking through a sexual playground.  Something was wrong.

“It's Cortizi, the elf guy who was eyeing us on the dance floor.”  Sam gave a small nod indicating for her to look.  When Cortizi was safely past the point of seeing them, they took a few steps to continue watching him.

“Follow him?”  Ruby asked.

“Yeah.”  Sam shrugged.  

They tried to follow him from a safe distance, which was difficult considering the way footsteps seemed to echo on the marble floor.  Yet Cortizi was visibly frustrated and distracted by something.  He headed in the direction of the sealed room, but didn't quite make it there.  Sam & Ruby heard at least two other people confront him in the hallway outside the sealed room, though they stopped trailing Cortizi at the sound of the new voices, instead opting to hide around a corner and eavesdrop to the best of their ability.

“How could you be so reckless?!”  One of the men started.

“You got us into this mess-”  

“No, I gave you a simple job in exchange for some real power and you had to let your own stupidity trapped you in here.”  The first man argued, then forced himself to take a more calm & pragmatic tone.  “The only way out is to finish this.”

“What good is having power if we get caught in the process?”  A third man asked.  “They're going to ban us- if we're lucky.  When they find out about the-”

There was the sound of someone being struck.  To Sam's surprise he didn't hear the usual shuffle of clothes indicating that someone was being held back from a fist fight.  He supposed that one of the men must've had something akin to authority in order to hit another without retaliation- probably Cortizi.

“Don't speak about it outside of a sealed room.”  The first man warned.  “Don't worry about afterward.  That's part of the plan.”

“If your spell doesn't work we'll be stuck here and they'll catch us eventually.”

“Let me take care of covering our tracks.  You two just focus on getting what we need- and make it fast.”

Sam could hear footsteps coming back toward him & Ruby.  He grabbed her hand and quickly started leading her away from where the conversation had occurred.  They had just turned another corner when Cortizi reached the intersection.  Sam pushed Ruby back against a large decorative marble pillar and moved to be as close as possible to her in the hopes of hiding behind the pillar, but Cortizi turned down the corridor they were in.

Sam took a deep breath, trying to ready himself for a fight.  His heart was pounding.  He could feel his adrenaline kicking in.  A fight was basically the last thing he wanted- he was unarmed versus a potential murder suspect, Cortizi presumably had back up within shouting distance, and every surface in the immediate area was potentially bone shattering marble.  They could run, but he wasn't sure how much good that would do them when they were close enough for Cortizi to identify them.  He was struggling to calm his pre-combat nerves when Ruby reached up grabbing the collar of Sam’s dress shirt and pulled him down into a kiss.  

For a split second his brain had no idea how to process the development.  He was kissing her.  He'd wanted to do it for so long that his shock at the act drowned out the danger for a moment.  Somewhere in the background he could hear Cortizi’s footsteps stop.  Ruby cupped his cheek preventing Sam from turning to see if Cortizi was staring at them- he almost certainly was otherwise Ruby wouldn't have been forcing Sam to not check.  She broke the kiss as she ran her fingers through his hair and pushed his lips down to her neck.

“Eyeing us, not hostile.”  She whispered her assessment as she nibbled his ear.  “We’re tipsy & horny- preoccupied, okay?”

Sam hummed with agreement at the play as he sucked on her warm flesh.  They'd maybe been flirting a bit beforehand, but now making out with her- it was partially an act, partially sincere desire, & confusing as all hell- but god it felt good.  He moved forward, pinning her to the pillar.  As much as he wanted to just ignore everything else that was going on, he knew there was a group of one or more murder suspects only a little ways off.

He could hear more footsteps approaching from the same direction Cortizi had come from.  For a moment he thought about turning to glance at them becoming outnumbered, but Ruby lifted her right leg and wrapped it around his thigh.  Despite her smaller size, she was physically stronger than him.  Her leg pulled his lower body to her, preventing him from turning, and incidentally pressing his crotch against her.

“We aren't done with you-”  One of the men told Cortizi.

“Henrick, shut up.”

Sam was trying to focus on the conversation behind him, but things with Ruby were becoming intense.  When she'd lifted her leg in order to grab him, her gown had been partially lifted up.  His hand caressed her bare thigh as she undid his cummerbund and unapologetically dropped it to the floor.

“No, you aren't getting out of this.  Ignore the the drunks, you're the one I care about.” Henrick said.

“Listen.  This isn't a discussion.  We only need two more and then we'll be completely out of the woods.”  Cortizi’s voice was seething.  “So just do your job.”

The men behind him lowered their voices, though Sam could make out the occasional word and their argumentative tone.  He hoped that Ruby had better luck since she was facing them, though she certainly appeared to be thoroughly distracted.  For a moment Sam thought the group might've stopped talking, but he hadn't heard any footsteps.  He continued to make out with Ruby and started grinding against her.  She let out a soft moan that, combined with the friction, began making him hard.

Her hand wrapped around his back, reassuring him that she didn't mind him grinding against her.  In fact, Ruby pushed herself up while wrapping her left leg around him.  He reached down to support her, holding her up against the marble pillar with just his hands cupping her thighs and his increasingly enthusiastic grinding.  Sam's hands touched the soft skin of her thighs, then slipped up beneath her dress.  His fingers caressed her flesh, up her hip bone- She wasn't wearing any panties.  He gripped her bare ass and groaned, unable to hold back anymore.

Ruby fumbled with his zipper, dress pushed up between them.  Her legs were draped over his, spreading her just enough for him to rub against her.  He lifted her a bit more, fully spreading her as she pulled his hard dick out of his pants and rubbed her clit with it.  Her back slid a bit down the cool marble pillar, but he moved up, pressing into her.

She moaned quietly and tilted her head back.  He gripped her shoulders, pulling her down while pushing deeper into her.  His head was spinning trying to split his attention between fucking her and keeping aware of his surroundings- all he wanted to focus on was Ruby.  How tight & wet she was.  The way her breasts bounced against him with each thrust.  But he forced himself to remember there had been suspects nearby.

“I can't hear… them.”  Sam whispered between thrusts.  

He put his fingers on her lips to act as a reminder for her to make less noise.  She ended up nibbling and sucking on his fingers, which made him even harder.  He could feel her clenched around him as she came.  The thought that he'd made her cum drove him wild.  He started fucking her even more forcefully, completely caught up in her pleasure.  Her back arched and she pulled him even tighter to her.  He couldn't take it anymore.  She moaned loudly as he frantically fucked her until they both came together.

When they were done Sam rested his forehead against the marble pillar, beside Ruby's head.  After a few deep breaths, he looked over at her.  She was pink-cheeked and panting, face only a few inches from his own.  His eyes drifted down to her lips and for a moment he wanted to give her kiss.  She bit her lower lip softly in anticipation, but she noticed something behind him that made her brow furrow.  He turned to see that the group had slipped away while they were distracted.  

“Jesus Christ.”  Sam sighed as he pulled out of Ruby and turned to see if Cortizi & the others were still visible around the corner.  Having suddenly lost the only thing holding her up against the marble pillar, Ruby dropped to the floor.  He scrambled to help her up.  “Shit, sorry.”

“Constant risk of death & a broken tailbone- still not the worst date I've been on.”

“I didn't-”  He said while he self-consciously tucked his dick back into his pants.  He felt so embarrassed.  She was one of his best friends and he hadn't been planning on crossing that line with her.  Despite the fact that she was nice to him, she barely seemed to care about anything in a deep way.  Muddying whatever feelings he might have for her with something like sex was just a recipe for disaster.  “This isn't a date.”

“I mean, yeah, we're trapped and it's not ideal, but some drinks, some dancing,”  Ruby stood up and started straightening out her dress when her eyes widened.  “Some of you dripping down the inside of my thigh.”

“Oh God,”  He covered his face with his hand.  “I can't believe this.”

“Sam, look at me.”  She opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated.  Some of her lighthearted glow faded as she studied his anxious face.  “Every inch of this place just screams impulse control problem.   We had a drink- something was probably messing with us- Just forget it ever happened.”

Before he could think of what to say Ruby turned and started walking down the hallway.  He hurried to keep up.  She led him back to the outside of the room containing the scuffle crime scene, where Cortizi & the others had initially been talking.  Neither of them said anything on the way there and Ruby didn't volunteer any observations about the door or immediate area.  To Sam the area seemed completely unnoteworthy- granted he may have been studying Ruby just as much as their surroundings.

She had that little half pout that could either be concentration or seething annoyance.  He wouldn't have been surprised either way.  They'd just crossed the line and she certainly seemed pissed off.  He wasn't sure what to say in order to make the situation any better, but it was hard to formulate an apology for what had just happened- he was still trying to wrap his head around it.

“I'm at the end of my rope on this maybe lead- maybe goose chase.”  Ruby stated, waving her hand dismissively at the sealed door.  “You got anything or should we switch horses?”

“I've got nothing.”  Sam agreed.  

“Let's just find this Eloise.”  Ruby huffed.  “The sooner we can find a way out of here the better.”


	5. Chapter Five

It took asking several more passersby for directions, but they eventually found Eddie’s partner, Eloise in the western wing of the fourth floor.  She was flipping through a handful of papers, sorting each of them after careful consideration.  She had light brown skin, long frizzy hair that was loosely bound with a massive silver bow, and she wore a fluffy bubblegum pink gown adorned with even more silver bows.  Her dress swished a bit from side to side, hinting that she was probably bouncing on her feet while reading her notes.

“Thank god I didn't end up in that dress.”  Ruby muttered under her breath as they approached the woman.

“Excuse me, are you Eloise?”  Sam asked the bubbly, bouncy woman.

“I am indeed, and not just that, I am also at your service.”  She curtsied, then sidestepped to reveal a small tan leather satchel resting on the bench behind her.  “For the right price I can make you fly.”

“Figuratively or literally?”  Ruby asked, earning a smirk from Eloise.

“Most customers find the illusion perfectly satisfactory, but I've been known to take more extravagant requests.”  Eloise's dress swooshed in a subtly figure eight pattern as she bashfully rocked her hips.

“I'm looking to make my own entertainment and I need some materials.”

“A sister in the craft?”  Eloise’s plastered on saleswoman smile gained a bit of sincerity at the realization that she was talking to another witch.  “Are you in a coven or freelance?”

“Freelance.”  Ruby omitted the fact that she'd turned into a demon and thus split her affiliation.  “You?”

“Freelance now, born to the Seattle Suns coven.”  Sam wondered if Ruby's little nodded of acknowledgment at the news meant actual familiarity with the specific coven or if it was just part of an act.

“I’m more of a Gulf Coast covens girl myself.”  Ruby replied with a casual confidence.

“The Gulf Coast?  Lafayette, their necromancy is just on another level-”  Eloise cut herself off after realizing that she was speaking well outside the realm of her recreational drug business.

“Tell you what, I know the demon that powers that coven-”  Ruby started.

“You know a coven bound demon?”  Eloise bounced excitedly, eyes wide with awe.

“It's a long story.”  Ruby deflected.  Sam suspected it was probably as simple as Ruby & the demon had gone to demon orientation training together or something of the sort.  “But if you help me get together a couple common reagents, I'll give the demon your name and ask him to give you a private lesson.”

“I might be able to locate some raw materials.  What do you need?”  Eloise had lowered her voice.  Ruby started listing off a dozen items, some of which Sam didn't recognize.  Eloise nodded to herself at all of the items until Ruby mentioned a pint of virgin blood.  “I can do everything with the exception of blood magic.”

“Technically speaking it’s not actual blood magic, there's just a little- it's more blood adjacent magic-”

“If someone dies, is it going to be traced back to me?”

“These aren't lethal spells.”  Ruby replied in what Sam decided was a skillfully thin evasion.  “It’s just conjuration & divinat-”

“I don't want to know.”  Eloise raised her hands asking to be left out as a potential accomplice.  “You've got a deal for everything except the virgin blood.”

“Deal.”  Ruby shook Eloise’s hand.

Eloise left to seek out reagents from her hidden laboratory.  Ruby had attempted to follow her, but was politely turned away so as to avoid discovering trade secrets.  So Sam & Ruby just sat down on the bench where the satchel of drugs had been and waited in silence.  

Sam want to say something about them having had sex, but he wasn't sure what.  The longer they sat there without speaking the worse he felt about the whole thing.  Normally, Ruby would be making jokes about Eloise's dress or telling some far fetched story about the Lafayette demon, but nothing.  Their relationship had been damaged- he was pretty sure he'd been the one to damage it.  He certainly felt like he'd messed something up.

“I don't remember the last time I saw you talking shop with a witch.”  Sam offered, trying to at least get some communication going.  “I guess sometimes I forget that you have that whole other side to you.”

“Us monsters aren't so two dimensional.”

“I didn't mean-”

“I know.”  Ruby quickly reassured him.  “I know you don't think I'm- whatever.”

“If you can cast a spell and open up the door, are you going to leave?”  Sam asked after what felt like a whole minute of silence.

“I might.”  Ruby replied.  She waited a beat, then turned to look at him.  “Would you really consider staying?”

“I’m not going to lie, it's tempting to go… but four people are dead, including a little girl.”  Sam hated the idea of just abandoning a case, especially one with such a large death toll.  “As long as we have a lead to run down, something to investigate- I don't know.  I might stay awhile longer.”

“You're a potential target.”  Ruby countered.  “No one would blame you for getting out of here.  These people, they're incorporeal empaths, ancient witches, whatever the fuck Draegus is- my point is that maybe it's fine for us to take a pass on this.”

“I know I'm out of my depths-”

“I'm not trying to say you can't…”  Ruby took a few seconds to get her thoughts together.  “I don't want you to get-”

Eloise returned with a neatly wrapped azure colored paper parcel roughly the size of a bread loaf.  Ruby's mouth stayed open for just a moment after the interruption, debating whether to finish whatever she was going to say to him, but Eloise started speaking to her unaware of the delicate conversation she’d just barged in on.  The witch handed the package off to Ruby, then verbally listed off three different ways for the Lafayette demon to contact her.  Sam’s mind wandered away from the discussion of magical forms of communication and instead focused on Ruby.  

He watched Ruby go through the motions of politely ending the transaction, but he'd known her for long enough to spot her painted on smile.  For years the two of them had worked together through countless struggles and it felt like he'd seen every guise in her bag of tricks.  There was a familiarity between them that helped him parse the many different shades on her spectrum of carefree to crass.  But just moments earlier he saw a side of her that almost never came to the surface.  Her face had been tense while discussing the possibility of him staying without her.  She'd been unusually serious- nearly vulnerable.  The thought produced a confusing combination of concern and affection in him.  He didn’t want to focus on what those feelings meant, not when they were in danger- The thought that maybe he could somehow make her vulnerable... He didn’t know what that meant.

Sam reached into his jacket pocket looking to distract himself with the referral card that Eddie had given them earlier.  He could ask Eloise for some more information on what they’d been given, but he couldn’t find the card.  After rechecking his pockets he started mentally retracing their steps.  It could’ve easily fallen out while they were on the floor in the library or possibly in the hasty fumbling around while they were having sex.  Knowing his luck, even if they managed to find a way out of this place the pills wouldn’t be allowed to leave, in the same way that his wallet hadn’t been allowed inside.

“Eloise, quick question.”  Sam asked once the two witches were done.  “How do people normally pay you?  My wallet didn’t come through with me.  It seems kind of hard to run a business like this.”

“You’d be surprised how many transactions actually happen in the House.”  Eloise grinned broadly at the opportunity to discuss her other specialty, business.  “It’s a rare & diverse market, but we have to deal in trade for goods or services on the outside.  Luckily, our clientele are affluent or connected people like yourselves.”

“Who pays the best?”

“Are you asking me to divulge my customer list?”  She asked, but didn’t seem offended.

“I’m just curious who to talk to if I want to make some influential friends.”

“A lady of business doesn’t sell & tell.”  Eloise said apologetically, then added.  “But I assure you, the real power players will find you easy enough.”

* * *

With the reagents in hand, they decided to go find some place quiet for Ruby to work.  When Ruby suggested finding an empty bedroom he didn't attempt to make a different suggestion- whatever she thought would work.  They started heading back toward some of the rooms that Tawntette had pointed out to them as being smaller private rooms for couples.  But before they could even reach the eastern wing they turned a corner to find a woman laying on the ground in a pool of blood.  The two of them ran up to her and Sam checked her pulse.  

“She’s dead.”

It was the redheaded woman in the copper dress from earlier.  Draegus had pointed her out while they were talking to him.  He’d called her Miss Lynn and mentioned that she was a human, but Sam had redirected the conversation away from her while trying to get information on two other victims.  The pool of blood was still spreading out around her body.  She’d probably been killed just minutes earlier.  Ruby leaned over her to check the floor on either side of her body for something.

“She had a purse.”  Ruby told Sam as she roll the victim slightly to yank a small red purse from beneath the dead woman.

“Careful about the blood.”  He warned while glancing down the hallway, watching for either the killer or witnesses.

“This can't be a coincidence, right?”  Ruby asked.  “I mean, people can't get murdered here that often.  They'd run out of guests.”

“Why leave her out in the middle of the hall for everyone to see?”  Sam mused.

“One sec.”  Ruby pulled a thick paper card from the purse, then looked it over with a frown.  “Okay, we have another serious problem.”

Ruby held up the card for him to see.  It was the combination business card and envelope of pills that Eddie had given to them- it even had the handwritten note with their names on it.  

“I noticed it was missing when you were talking with Eloise.  I could've dropped it a couple of times.  Maybe she found it?”  Sam suggested, but he wasn’t feeling so optimistic as to really believe it.

Ruby shook her head, then gestured at the obvious placement of the body in conjunction with the card implicating them.  Someone was trying to frame them.  He hastily helped Ruby stand up and they started running as quietly as possible away from the victim.

In no time at all they could hear the sound of footsteps following them.  When Sam & Ruby turned a corner and stopped, so did the footsteps, unsure of exactly which side corridor they'd gone down.  They exchanged an uneasy glance.

“I can blink back there and maybe get the drop on them.”  Ruby whispered to him.

Despite Ruby's inhuman strength, they were still both unarmed.  He couldn't tell from the sound how many people had been following them, let alone what species they were- but it sounded like at least two.  One of the victims had been stabbed with an angel blade- In theory, there might be an angel after them.  He wasn't prepared to let her go jumping into an unknown danger alone.

“We don't split up.”  He told her firmly.

“Come on.”  She took his hand, then ran down the hall.

They could hear the others continue after them as soon as they started moving again.  When they'd gotten a little distance between themselves and their pursuers, Ruby stopped and took off her high heels.  While she was doing that Sam opened and loudly closed a door to hopefully act as misdirection.  They silently rounded another corner and down a hall, then went through a door.

They were in a small otherwise unoccupied dimly lit guest bedroom.  Ruby locked the door while Sam quickly started checking the walls for hidden entrances into the secret passageway system inside the walls that Tawntette had shown them.  After a few seconds of checking for a hidden escape route, they both froze at the sound of footsteps on the marble hallway floor.  The light below the door flickered as someone stopped just outside.  Sam looked around the room for something he could use as an improvised weapon, but before he could find it, Ruby did something that stopped him in his tracks.

Ruby threw herself against the wall that was shared with the hallway and started moaning.  She slapped and scratched at the wall as she let out cries of passion in a language Sam didn't recognize.  To make the scene even more confounding, she abruptly raised her voice to give the impression there were two women having sex in there.  The light below the door return to normal as the person outside continued down the hall, but Ruby continued to keep up the act until both her characters came and the pursuer was certainly out of earshot.

Sam was just staring at her, completely dazed.  He knew perfectly well that she was faking the whole thing- he'd been watching her the whole time, but the sound of her and the sight her mouth half open as she moaned...  His cheeks were warm and he was partially hard.  They stared at each other in silence for several seconds, both panting slightly.

He was sure it was the adrenaline in his system, but god he wanted to throw her onto the bed.  The thought made him feel a bit embarrassed and guilty.  She was his friend and it was all he could do to avoid thinking about the taste of her- christ, they were on a case and he was making it even more awkward than it needed to be.  He tried to focus on her just being a competent colleague, but the thought of her quick thinking was as arousing as the sound of her moaning.

“You're making a weird face.”  She told him.

“I’m-  I just…”  Sam wasn’t sure what to say.  “I have a lot of respect for you.”

“What?”

“I'm sorry that I made things weird.  I think you're great-  And I know you like to tease & play flirt with me, but I shouldn't have taken advantage of the situation.”  He felt like he must've turned bright red.

“You think you took advantage of me?”  Ruby raised an eyebrow at him, then added a little offended.  “I could snap you like a twig.  I was the one who pulled your dick out.”

“It's just with this place being so crazy- you said it yourself, something was probably messing with us.”

“I said that because you were freaking out and I didn't want you to feel bad- which clearly didn't work.”

“What?”

“For fuck's sake Sam, I had fun.  I liked fucking you.  I'd fuck you right now if we didn't have shit to do- okay, maybe not right now because I'm a little upset.  But if we live passed this I'll probably try to fuck you again.”  Ruby said with a conviction that he found a tad disorienting.  “Right now we need to get over this weird tension or whatever because it's dumb shit like this that could get us both killed.  So just be straight with me.”

“Fine, I like you.”  His mouth felt dry and he choked slightly on the words.  “Like  _ like _ like you.”

“Good, I like like you too.”  She crossed her arms in front of her chest caught between frustration and satisfaction.

“Oh my god, it's like we're in middle school.”  Sam sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.  “I'm sorry I'm being awkward.  This is just super confusing and stressful- and kind of good, which is making it even more confusing.”

“I was all for not being trapped in here, but now I really want to get the fuck out of here because maybe out there this makes more sense- we make more sense.”

“I think… maybe we do make sense.”  Sam replied cautiously.  “If I have to be stuck in here with someone I'm glad it's you.”

He rubbed the back of his neck as a small grin spread across her face.  It was a bit embarrassing to be confessing all this sentimentality to her, but she didn't even tease him for being so sweet on her.  In fact, the little light in her eyes- she seemed to like it.  Her hand extended to touch his chest, but reluctantly pulled back at the last second.

“God dammit,”  Ruby groaned with a gentle bite to her lower lip.  “can we just push pause on this whole multiple homicide thing and fuck for like a week?”

“I think your expectation of my stamina is a little high.”  Sam smiled meekly.  “You know I'm human, right?”

“I'd steal us tiny sandwiches & booze from downstairs.”  Ruby explained, earning a chuckle from Sam.

“Minus the serial killer-killers, I'm starting to see the appeal in this place.”  He commented.  Ruby moved a bit closer to him and softly placed her hand on his chest.  He leaned down to kiss her, but she put her fingers to his lips.  

“If we start now, I might seriously just tie you down and give up on everything else.”  She reached into his jacket and withdrew the two small spellbooks they'd taken from the library.  “I'm figuring out how to get us out of here, then once we're safe, you're booking a second room at the motel.”


	6. Chapter Six

Ruby sat on the plush king bed, leaning against the headboard, reading the books.  After being on his toes for what must've been close to 24 hours, Sam opted to lay down on the bed and rest a bit.  There was too much danger for him to feel comfortable sleeping, but even a few minutes of calm was welcome.  He turned the envelope of drugs over in his hands, then read some fine print describing the effects.

“Looks like the green ones are mild hallucinogens, the pink ones are uppers, & the blue ones are sedatives.”  Sam speculated.

“You look like you could use any of those.”

“With someone trying to frame us- probably a serial killer or killers, I think I’m gonna pass on the mind altering substances.”  Sam replied.

Sam looked around the room, trying to think about something other than the case for a few minutes.  His head was swimming with random pieces of information that hadn't quite formed a clear picture yet.  He needed to let his mind relax a bit and hopefully come at the situation with fresh eyes when Ruby was done with her investigation.  

He glanced at Ruby.  The way they were positioned on the bed, her hips were only about a foot or so to the left of his head.  He admired the way her dress hugged her curves.  For a few minutes he indulged, imagining her in a variety of outfits.  The sight of her in something other than her skinny jeans & leather opened up a whole world of options- not that the leather was a problem, quite the opposite.  He chewed his lower lip slightly at the thought.

“Did your outfit just not come with underwear or what?”  Sam asked.

“It was this lace thong thing.  I'm not gonna run around all night, maybe fighting bad guys with that riding up my crack.”  She glanced down at him for a moment.  “Whoever designed this stuff didn't have functionality in mind.”

“Formalwear.”  Sam agreed while tugging at his bow tie in solidarity.  “How'd you take off the thong without making a scene?”

“You keep forgetting I’m like 400 years old.  The pickpocket doesn't have anything on my guile.”  Ruby went back to flipping through the spell books, then added.  “I dropped them in the hidden wall passage thing.  I was last in the group, no onlookers, not a big open space.”

There were many things he & Ruby didn’t understand about this place, but she was taken the unknown with a level of pragmatic grace that he admired.  He knew her well enough to know that she was perfectly aware of the danger, she just seemed to shrug off any excessive worry that might weigh her down.  Others might mistake her for reckless, and occasionally in his more anxious moment he might call her reckless, but when it came right down to it he trusted her judgment, even when she seemed carefree.  

This place was full of extremes and her easygoing nature might very well be a reasonable approach to dealing with it.  Embracing the absurdity would leave him better able to recover from the unforeseen twists & turns.  He couldn’t shrug off all of his worries, but maybe he didn’t have to be so delicate.  He didn’t have to wring his hands while dwelling on his feelings when he could just talk to Ruby about them.  He could be more direct when questioning people than he’d expected- hell, they were starting to learn enough about the place that he wasn’t completely terrified of blowing their cover.  

Yes, there were complications- someone was trying to frame them and they hadn’t narrowed down a solid suspect list- those were the things he should be worried about.  To the extent he could otherwise relax, it was probably to his benefit.  The setting was strange, but it was just another hunt and he needed to take some comfort in that.

“We need some weapons.”  Sam's eyes casually scanned the room looking for something he could turn into a weapon.  

“If you clean & snap a rib bone just right it makes a pretty good shiv.”  Ruby suggested, though he was somewhat convinced that she was joking.

“That sounds a little involved.”

“I bet if we check a few of the sex dungeons we’ll find a whip.”  He stared up at her, trying to imagine how they had gotten into a situation where a sex toy might be their most convenient weapon.  She grinned down at him.   “Feeling a tad titillated by the thought?”

“Are you any good with a whip?”

“I haven't had any complaints so far.”  She smirked.

“I meant fighting with a whip.”  He corrected

“Well then I have had some complaints.”

“Let's put that down as plan b.”

* * *

Ruby spent almost an hour casting a divination spell on the invitation in order to study the magical mechanisms that were in play.  Sam was a little surprised to find out that she only used about half the reagents that Eloise had given them, but Ruby explained that the chemistry of witchcraft was akin to the artistry of baking- sometimes you get to lick the bowl.  When the spell was done, Sam helped by cleaning up the leftover reagents while Ruby thoughtfully stared at the invitation with black eyes, observing something he couldn’t begin to guess at.  He wrapped up the remaining reagents in the azure paper, then retied the twine that had bound it earlier to include a convenient arm strap.

“Amended working theory: The killer-killers are stealing invitations, possibly to harvest whatever magic that makes these invitations work- it sounds like there are easier ways to destroy them.”  Sam mused aloud to Ruby while she turned the card over in her hand.  “So what do the invitations actually do?”

“These are basically interplanar keys.”  She replied, handed him the invitation, then picked one of the spell books back up.

“We aren't on Earth?”  After meeting Tawntette, a creature from a different plane, he'd suspected that there was a chance that they'd been transported somewhere else.  

“If you want to get technical about it, I'm not even sure we’re on the material plane.”  Ruby shrugged.  “It looks like these invitations use a basic plane-jumping spell with a little extra restriction to link it directly to wherever we are.”

“If we take off that restriction, can we use it to get back to Earth?”

“It's been a very long time since I improvised any spellwork.  This isn't something that we want to take chances on- maybe we'd get back to the right plane, but pop into existence in orbit.”  Ruby warned.  “You'd need a much more skilled or reckless witch than me to try that kind of shit.”

“Is there anything useful we can figure out from it?”

“The unbinding spell requires some fairly heavy blood magic-”  

“Literal blood?”  Sam tapped the recently bloodstained corner of the back cover of the spell book that she was holding.  She glanced at it, then gave him a little nod.

“Looks like somebody's already hard at work.  Whoever is doing this needed some dried irises, eldersage, ink wick flame- I wonder how much bribing it would take to get Eloise to flip on a client.  She seemed pretty firm on the whole not narcing on-”  Ruby stopped and held the book closer to her face for a better look at something.  She ran her fingers over the margin of the page a few times.  “Someone wrote on top of this.  I can feel indentations.”

“Can you make out the words?”

“No.”

“Is the writing just in the margin or is it all over the page?”

“Just the margin- probably making some notes while reading.”  Ruby speculated.

Sam got up from the bed, then dug through several drawers in the bedroom’s ornate furniture before finding a collar that had several large pieces of ebony wood incorporated into the metalwork.  Ruby sat up, intrigued by the unexpected toy, but she didn't say anything.  He took the key to a lock on the collar and started carefully prying a piece of the wood out.  It took a few minutes, but one of the two inch sections popped from its metal frame.  He dropped the wood into one of the flame lit wall sconces, then watched for awhile longer to make sure it caught fire.  When it was safely burning, he returned to the bed.

“We can rub some of the charcoal or ash along the edge of the page to read the indentations.”  He explained, before picking up the invitation and casually playing with the wax seal.  His pinkie finger accidently dragged along one edge, creating a papercut.  After a second a diminutive drop of blood welled up, capturing his attention against the backdrop of the invitation.    “Another aspect of this whole thing that I don't understand, if these are meant to be used by members of a particular bloodline, then how did we even get in here?”

“I didn’t see anything on the invitation that actually restricting these to specific bloodlines.  Anyway, if the invitations were restricted to certain family trees, demons & angels would have a hell of a time finding the right bodies to ride in.”  Ruby pointed out.  “It's probably just defaulting to possessor & closest proximity affiliated sentient creature- that's how I'd craft it.  Keep the spell mechanics simple with a broad application and let the tight ass bureaucrats figure out the rules to tighten up the usage.”

“Just when I think there aren't any more surprises you can throw at me, you go and disregard the concept of rules in a whole new way.”  Sam commented as he handed her the invitation, then got up to check on his charcoal.  He pulled the burnt piece of wood from the light fixture with the metal key to the collar and began blowing on it to cool it down.

“I'll listen to the laws of magic & physics.  Every other law is more of a suggestion.”  The way she described her personal philosophy made Sam chuckle before give her a nod of respect.  “Hell this place seems old enough that the suggestion that invitation be kept within families probably picked up its own momentum.  A thousand years in an echo chamber can make anything sound like canon.”

Ruby handed him the spell book and leaned back on the bed to watch him work.  Sam dragged the piece of charcoal over the edge of the page, then lightly spread the dust around with his fingers.  He made sure to stay away from the text to maintain its legibility.  When he was done they could see small writing in the margin.  Ruby examined it, trying to decipher its meaning.

“It's calculations for the unbinding spell.  They're substituting out the heart of a virgin- good luck finding one around here,”  Ruby commented.  “for a much larger blood sacrifice.”

“Does that mean collecting and doing something special with the blood or is killing good enough?”  Sam asked, thinking back to Miss Lynn's body.

“Killing is fine as long as a good amount of the blood ends up outside of the body, but it takes a minute or two to get prepped.”  Ruby clarified.  “You think the killer got two birds with one stone on the redhead?  Blood sacrifice and frame us at the same time?”

“Why not?”  Sam had meant it to be rhetorical, then scowled at an unpleasant thought.  “The bloodstain on that book is too old to be the woman we just saw in the hall.  Maybe the book being stained is a coincidence?”

“Or she wasn't the sacrifice.”  Ruby offered another scenario.

“The killer is stealing multiple invitations, don't each of them need to be unbound?”  Sam thought aloud.  “We’re looking at multiple sacrifices, aren't we?”

“Probably.”  She nodded in acknowledgment of the extra layer of complexity.  

“Great.  So are they all done or should we expect the body count to rise?”

“It looks like they're gonna try to unbind the spell on four invitations.  Each spell will be damaged when it's removed from the invitation, but this here,”  Ruby pointed to a grouping of notes in the bottom of the right margin.  “is a calculation of spell failure percentage upon merging multiple remnants spells.  These sorts of calculations always asymptotically approach a guarantee and four invitations is gonna be the sweet spot on a cost-benefit analysis.”

“I've never been more attracted to you.”  Sam couldn’t help but offer as an aside.

“You aren't the only one who can geek out over stuff.”  She grinned at a thought.  “At least I have an idea of how to talk dirty to you now.”

* * *

“How many invitations do we think they have?”  Ruby rubbed her temples as she fully laid down on the bed to relax for a few minutes while they theorized.

“Two, as a safe bet.”  Sam answered after rerunning the events over in his mind.  “Fulmer’s was probably taken before his body was dumped in that garbage bag.  And Devin Ross’ was probably taken before he was pushed off the balcony, since his jacket was missing.”

“Three.”  Ruby muttered as she looked back at the invitation sitting on the bed beside her.  She picked it up and held it cupped in her hand discreetly.  “I saw the redhead get something lifted from her purse by the pickpocket while we were dancing.  I think that might've been her invitation.”

“Do you think the pickpocket is the killer?  Or working with the killer?”  Sam nodded as he thought about it.  “I assumed I'd dropped Eddie’s business card, but some guy bumped into me while we were making our way through the crowd to look at Ross’ body.  The pickpocket might've gotten it from me then.”

“He was probably looking for your invitation and got Eddie’s card by mistake.”  Ruby speculated.

“And decided to frame us with it- might as well work with what you've got.”  Sam agreed and started playing through a scenario.  “So the killer- or killers, were looking for targets to steal the invitations of- people who didn’t have family that’d come investigating if their invitation or the victim themselves went missing.  They kill and rob the first victim- Fulmer, the businessman who kept to himself that nobody liked.  They killed him and dumped him outside this place.  Then while they’re there, they find and kill Kelly Ross in preparation to go after Devin Ross.”

“The killer- maybe killers, then off Martens- or whoever he was,”  Ruby took over for him.  “but before they can find the invitation on him some witnesses stumble on the scene.  So the killer comes back in here, then steals Devin Ross’ invitation and kills him-”

“Why kill him in here?”  Sam interrupted. “Why not wait until he goes home where the cops have no idea about invitations and all this?”

“There was an opportunity?  Some sort of time constraint?”  Ruby shrugged.

“Anyway,”  Sam refocused on the picture they were piecing together.  “The killer robs and kills Devin Ross, about the same time two new people with no immediate family show up.  The pickpocket steals Miss Lynn’s invitation and tries to steal ours, but accidentally takes Eddie’s business card instead.  At that point they have at least three invitations and they needed some blood sacrifices to do the unbinding rituals, so they sacrificed Miss Lynn while trying to frame us with the business card that they already had.”

“Okay, so I agree that the killer had at least three invitations- not including any they’d normally have access to- but in terms of blood sacrifices, so far I'm counting maybe two.”  Ruby corrected.  “Devin Ross spilled more than enough blood when he hit the floor.  All it would’ve taken was a few minutes of prep work before confronting him.”

Sam considered whether he thought the killer or killers would bother going through the effort of a sacrificial ritual just before confronting someone over their invitation.  If he was planning this whole multiple homicide it would’ve been a lot more delicately handled, like the first few killings, but it wasn't unusual for murders to become sloppy as time progresses.  

Thinking about it, Devin Ross & Miss Lynn’s deaths felt more desperate than the others.  The first three murders had occurred far from the House and anyone who might be capable of recognizing the link between the victims.  He wasn't sure what had happened that had made the killer or killers become either sloppier or bolder- it could've been the added pressure of discovering that Sam & Ruby were investigating the victims, etc.  But Devin Ross had been killed in such a reckless way before Sam & Ruby had even realized the killer or killers might be in the complex.  There had to be some other side to this whole thing that they weren't understanding yet.

While he was musing on the change in the killers’ approach, Ruby had gone back to investigating the spellwork on the invitation.  She flipped through the conjuration book to an appendix that included a seven page long table of incredibly fine print.  After quickly double checking some characteristic of the invitation she consulted the table and hummed with interest, drawing Sam's attention.

“Well here’s what we’re looking for, there’s a contingent capture effect to the teleportation spell on each invitation.”  She said without bothering to look up from her work.

“What's that mean?”

“We’re stuck until we satisfy the terms of the spell.  That’s why the door out doesn’t show up for us.”  Ruby's finger slid across one of the rows on the third page of the table and settled on some text Sam couldn't read.  “The effect keeping us here should be released when we achieve our desire- I guess that fits with the whole hedonistic theme around here.”

Sam leaned over to Ruby, cupped her cheek with his hand, and pulled her into a long kiss.  She put the book down and started reaching for his pants, but he pulled back, then looked around.  He wasn’t really expecting for an exit to appear right next to them, yet even without going to check on the doorway that they’d entered through there was something that didn’t feel right about his hasty attempt.

“It was worth a try.”

“Of all the things, I'm your desire?”  Ruby smiled a bit at the thought.

“Of course.”  Sam replied without really thinking about it.  

“Definitely, liking the hopeless romantic side.”  Ruby commented quietly as she curled up next to him, then resumed skimming through the spellbook for more insight.

He dropped his head back on the pillow, wrapped an arm around her, then started thinking about the way that everyone had talked about their time visiting the House.  Many of the other guests had talked about their purpose for being there or referred to it like an overdue vacation.  He could see some of the reasoning that might’ve created this place.  It was clearly an environment meant for power players, maybe originally it was made to force them to take time away from their normal lives or maybe it’d been to force intermingling as Draegus had suggested.  Either way, whenever someone entered they were supposed to do it with intent- with an agenda as some of them had put it.  He & Ruby hadn’t known that and simply stumbled into this mess without-  Sam groaned at an unpleasant thought. 

“Fuck-”

“Well, I'm willing to try it again if you are.”  Ruby lifted her head to kiss him again, but Sam didn't take her up on it.

“Wait, what?”  Sam's brow furrowed as he briefly debated accepting the invitation for sex.  “What I meant was it probably isn't a contemporaneous desire otherwise doing basically anything you wanted would let you out.  The system exists to make you do something specific.”

“So what'd we wish for on our cursed monkey's paw?”

“We walked into this place trying to find the person that killed those victims.”  Sam sighed.  “I think we have to solve this case.”


	7. Chapter Seven

With the killer or killers having tried to frame them once, Sam & Ruby decided to act with a little more caution while trying to narrow the suspects and gather evidence.  They agreed that the best plan for staying safe and establishing alibis was moving to a location with more witnesses.  The upper tiers might be better for speaking candidly, but it was also a prime location for being quietly murdered or set up.  They decided to go back to Draegus first in the hopes of being able to identify the pickpocket or find out more about Luz, Henrick, Tawntette, & Eloise- all of the people they’d learned about since last questioning Draegus.  

In order to get back to Draegus they had to descend a staircase, then circle around the complex through a series of three corridors.  They made it down the stairs and most of the way down the first corridor before things went wrong.  

Ruby was leading the way when Sam spotted a man lunged out of an alcove, trying to grab her from behind.  He opened his mouth to warn Ruby, but a pair of hands brought down a wire in front of his neck.  Someone was about to try garroting him.  He immediately turned his body to make his hips perpendicular to the attacker and faced the attacker to make the garrote hit the back of his neck.  Rather than fighting the force of the wire Sam went with the momentum.  He gripped the other man's shirt, holding the attacker close in order to headbutt him.  They fell to the ground and grappled.

Sam struggled to pin the attacker’s arms in such a way that the wire couldn't be pulled completely tight around his throat.  With both of their arms battling over the garrote wire, their secondary fight was limited to kneeing each other.  The attacker landed a solid hit to Sam’s stomach, then glanced passed the shaken Sam to where Ruby was fighting the other man.

“He said to keep one alive.”  The man Sam was wrestling with called out to his companion.  “Be careful with her.”

While the attacker was distracted, Sam collected himself and landed a quick elbow the attacker’s collarbone, snapping it.  The man cried out in pain, but only seemed to become more enraged by the injury.  Unable to finish Sam off with the wire, the attacker released the weapon with one hand in order to grab Sam's jacket & shirt.  As soon as he got a better grip on Sam, the attacker rolled them, forcing Sam to the bottom.  He hit Sam in the face, causing the back of Sam's head to hit the marble floor.  The painful impact dazed Sam for a moment.  The attacker took the opportunity to sit up slightly and collect the garrote from the ground next to Sam.  The attacker picked up the wire and was just about to wrap it around Sam's neck again, but didn't get the chance to make good on the effort.

Ruby yanked the attacker’s hair, pulling him backwards off of Sam.  She spun around kneeing the man in the face. When he fell onto his back she stomped down on his throat, piercing his jugular with her silver high heel.  She lifted up the front of her dress, but some of the blood soaked in, turning the teal a dark brown purple around the hem.  A large smear of blood marked the ground where she walked to reach Sam.  

She offered him a hand up and as soon as he was standing he pulled her into a kiss.  One hand held her head as they kissed, the other hand gently brushed her bare back- until felt something sticking out of her flesh between her shoulder blades.  He broke the kiss, then peeked over her shoulder to find a small metal hilt & handle.

“There's a knife in your back.”

“Is that what that is?”  Ruby asked as she tried to reach behind herself to grab it, but she couldn't quite reach.

“I've got it.”  Sam offered.  

He held her steady with his left hand and gripped the handle with his right.  His left thumb caressed her flesh apologetically before he pulled it out.  She grunted quietly from the pain, though it apparently didn't rise to the level of profanity.  The blade was about three inches long.  He handed her the knife before taking the pocket square from his jacket and holding it to the wound.  She wasn't in any real danger from the injury, but he hated seeing her that way.

“Looks like someone doesn't know how to kill demons.”  Ruby commented while examining the weapon.

“I guess…”  Sam thought back to the signs at the bar that were in Abyssal.  Clearly there were demons that frequented the House- though Ruby hadn't had the demonic drink options.  “Do demons normal drink that demon liquor that was at the bar?”

“If we can get our hands on it, yeah.  Those mixes are hard to find and if we weren't working I'd be all over it.”

“Why'd you pass?”

“They hit like semi trucks.  They're like one of the only things that’ll get me drunk.”  She explained.  “We’re on a job, as much as I might joke about it, I’m not gonna get completely wrecked.”

“Whoever’s after us thinks you're human.”  Sam suggested.

“Bellamor.  She thinks we're both human from when we talked to her and she's apprentice to an immortal witch.  I'd bet my life Bellamor can do an unbinding ritual if she had the supplies and a little privacy-”  Ruby put her palm on her face at some sort of realization.  “That's what was off about the room Tawntette took us to look at- the candles, the blood- Tawntette said the guy that got attacked just had a broken arm and a concussion- two injuries that don't cause a lot of blood, there was at least a pint of blood on the floor.  That wasn't an interrupted romantic setup, it was a ritual on the floor.”

“Bellamor didn't kill Devin Ross though, she was on the dance floor when it happened.”  Sam pointed out, then sighed at a thought.  “Well, she wasn't running this thing alone.  The drunk guy that crashed the ritual was beat up by a guy at the private room.”

“The drunk may have walked in on one of the unbinding rituals.  That could’ve been when the spell book got blood on it- knocked into the puddle on the floor during the fight.  I know I'd break a few bones if someone interrupted my hard work like that- or I’d let a flunky break some bones.”  Ruby looked down at the two dead men, neither of whom was Luz, Cortizi, or an angel.  “I think it's safe to say that we’ve got a conspiracy.  How many players do you want to guess at?”

“Are either of these the pickpocket?”

“Nope.”  Ruby turned one of the attackers heads so that it was facing Sam.  “Recognize him?  He looks kinda familiar.”

“Honestly, I've seen so many people in the last however many hours.”  Sam stared at the man for several seconds trying to place the face, but he wasn't sure.  “Maybe?”

“Well, we've still got Bellamor & a pickpocket to find- at least.”  Ruby sighed.  “And it'd be nice if we could find out which goon broke the drunk guy's arm.  I'm getting tired of the number of people on our asses increasing every five minutes.”

“Let's just get down to the main floor where there are people.”  Sam suggested.  “At least we’ll be slightly less likely to get murdered in front of dozens of witnesses and we’ll have an alibi for any new murders.”

“I've got blood on me.”  Ruby pointed at the bottom of her dress, then her back.  “It's just a tad suspicious- granted here it might be the height of fashion.”

“Your bottom hem doesn't look too bad and you can use my coat for your back.”

“This is getting out of control.”  She commented while trying to judge if the blood soaked teal was a complimentary color to her overall outfit.

“Was it ever under control?”

“You know what, fuck it.”  Ruby knelt down and gripped the hem of her dress.  She ripped the fabric on the right side up to mid thigh, then broadened her stance, testing her improved range of motion.  “I've always wanted to do that.”

“Having fun?”

“Despite everything, yeah.  I still am.”  She admitted as he draped his jacket over her shoulders, covering the stab wound.  She held it to her and looked up at him mischievously.  “If I had a martini & an Aston Martin I'd cum right now.”

“Duly noted.”  Sam said aloud to himself.  “Steal an Aston Martin when we get out of here.”

* * *

They'd almost made it to one of the staircases leading out to the main hall when they heard the distinct click of a gun being cocked behind them.

“Stop right there.”  Sam & Ruby turned around to see Luz aiming a pistol at them.  

“Plot twist.”  Ruby muttered.  They raised their hands and in the process, Ruby shrugging off Sam’s jacket and dropped the azure parcel of reagents.  Sam hoped that Luz didn’t recognize the dull clatter of the knife inside the jacket pocket hitting the hard floor.  

“You dropped something in the passage.”  Luz said as he pull from his pocket a lace thong that matched Ruby's dress.

“I’m nearly doing all your work for you.”  She replied.  It was another piece of evidence that could be used to frame them.

“If you come along peacefully I won't kill you.”  Luz told them.

“I find that hard to believe considering the number of bodies piling up.”  Sam replied skeptically, making Luz narrow his eyes.

“Enough people have died, I don't think there needs to be anymore blood.”  Luz said, but he didn't lower his gun in the slightest.

“It really doesn't feel like that’s the case.”  Sam rejected the reassurance.  The goons they’d just fought had been trying to keep one of them alive until they'd fought back more than expected.  The conspirators still needed one more sacrifice.  “The ritual needs at least one more.”

One of Luz's eyebrow raised subtly at the statement and he held his pistol with a bit more confidence.

“Hey Luz,”  Ruby said, drawing his attention and redirecting the gun at her.  “what are your bullets made of?”

Luz’s brow furrowed at the question- he thought she was a human after all.  

Ruby teleported to be in front of Luz, trying to shield Sam.  She grabbed the pistol, pushing it up as Luz got two shots off.  Her right knee swung forward, hitting him in the crotch.  He buckled slightly, but in the process brought the butt of the gun down on the top of her head.

As soon as she had blinked into combat, Sam had rushed at Luz from an indirect angle, hopefully avoiding being shot.  When Luz cracked Ruby in the head with the pistol, Sam tackled him from the side.  The gun was knocked out of Luz’s hand and slid across the floor.  Luz elbowed Sam's shoulder, but thankfully didn't have the right angle to break any bones.  Sam punched Luz hard in the face, disorienting him long enough for Sam to pin him.

“Hold him.”  Ruby instructed Sam, then forced one of the sedative pills into Luz's mouth.  

Sam held Luz down and Ruby covered his mouth until Luz went mostly limp.  He collected the pistol after he lowered Luz onto the floor.  The pistol’s magazine only had six bullets left in it, but it was better than nothing.

“Finally.”  Sam sighed.  “I’m getting pretty tired of melee fighting people that might have inhuman strength.”

“Too bad normal bullets don’t work too well on things with inhuman strength.  You might need to go back to hunter school.”

“Unless we get a full roster of the killers, I’d rather start with anything that keeps me out of arm's reach.”  Sam countered.  Luz shifted on the ground and looked up at Sam.  “What do we do with him?  We don’t know how long those sedatives are good for.  The last thing was need is to have him ambush us while we’re catching the rest.”

“I’m just saying there’s efficiency in killing him.”

“You know how I feel.”  Sam shrugged at her.  

He’d made it clear very early in their professional relationship that he wasn’t in favor of killing except when it was absolutely necessary.  In that moment they’d more or less subdued Luz, removing the immediate danger.  Hopefully, they’d be able to just knock people out and turn them over to Carsilla.  The last thing they needed was to muddy the waters between them and the actual killers.

“You’re such a pacifist.  One sec.”  Ruby dragged her fingers playfully along Sam’s chest before disappearing.  She returned a few seconds later with two pairs of leather lined manacles.  When Sam looked up at her confused, she explained.  “Sex dungeon.”

They bound Luz's wrists & ankles, crossing the chains so that his arms & legs were linked.  Sam pocketed the keys before they dragged Luz to an alcove in the hallway.  There wasn't really a good place to hide him, but hopefully the fact that Luz was bound & sedated would slow his pursuit down.  At that point they weren't able to carefully plan out their actions.  Everything was spiraling out of control as they got closer to uncovering the group of killers.  All they could do was keep moving and try to stay near a sufficient number of witnesses to dissuade further attempts on their lives.

To their relief no one on the dance floor commented on the irregular dark trim or the tear that had somehow formed on Ruby's dress.  Though at that point both Sam & Ruby were willing to believe that most of the guests were either too intoxicated or self-absorbed to notice.  Sam had returned his jacket to Ruby’s shoulders to hide the bloody injury of her back.  He wrapped an arm around her in order to help secure it and appear casually affectionate, but also to keep the pockets full of weapons within arm’s reach.

They scanned the dance floor looking for the pickpocket or Bellamor, but couldn't find either of them.  Sam spotted Merida chatting with two identical elderly women in matching black dresses that bordered on cloaks.  Sam & Ruby quickly approached her, inserting themselves into the conversation.

“Excuse me.”  Sam butted in.  “Merida, have you seen Bellamor?”

“She went off to visit that boy she's infatuated with.”  

“Luz?”  Sam's guess caused the three older women to chuckle at the thought.

“No, Cortizi.”  Merida corrected.  “It'd be a scandal if she was fraternizing with Aria Luz.”

“Why's that?”

“Luz is part of the House security.”  Merida explained.  “He's not supposed to mingle with guests unless it's for his work.”

Sam & Ruby glanced at each other.  Luz had probably been investigating them in conjunction with Devin Ross’ murder.  It was true that they hadn't been on the balcony when the victim was killed, but they had showed up immediately before it and had asked Luz questions that in hindsight may have come off as suspicious.  He was in the library looking for a spell book too, but it wasn't collecting a volume he'd already used.  He'd seen the ritual at the crime scene just as they had only he'd sought out the spellbook based on that lead whereas they had only connected the dots after the fact.  It wasn't clear whether Luz had somehow linked the dead redheaded woman to them or if him it'd been the two attackers they'd killed right before he'd- They'd just beat up a member of the House’s security and left him incapacitated while the killers were potentially looking for someone to use as a blood sacrifice.

“Please excuse us, for a moment.”  Ruby said while pulling Sam away.

They quickly made their way out of the main dance hall, up a set of stairs, then started running down the hall trying to find where they'd left Luz.

“The guy with the garrote wire, he was one of the guys that met with Cortizi.”  Ruby told Sam as they hurried down a hallway.  “That's why he looked familiar.”

“God, we fucked this up.”  Sam muttered.

“I think we're doing okay all things considered.”  Ruby offered in their defense.  “Maybe not great, but okay- This isn't exactly paint by numbers clear.”

“With a little luck the sedative didn't completely wipe him out-”

“Says you, I suggested killing him.”  Ruby pointed out.  “I hope he blacked that whole thing out.”

“We’ll tell him everything, then let him go.”  Sam suggested.  “If he knows we're on the same side, he might just let us leave and he can deal with this stuff himself.”

“Ever the optimist.”

* * *

They ran down the hall to where they'd left Luz, but he was gone.  Sam wasn't entirely sure which scenario he disliked more: Luz managed to get himself to safety and undoubtedly hated them or Luz had been taken by the killers and was going to be murdered because Ruby & he had left the security officer in a vulnerable state.  Neither option was desirable, but Sam hated the idea of them accidentally causing an innocent person to be in danger, even if the guy was a bit of a dick.  At least if Luz was free and pursuing them the main burden on them was explaining the misunderstanding.  

Sam & Ruby began searching the immediate area looking for any signs of him.  A little ways down the hall Sam found the scuff mark of a dress shoe’s sole on the white marble floor.  Unlike the short frantic markings that might've occurred during their earlier fight with Luz, this was the long unbroken streak of someone being dragging.  They continued down the hallway in that direction for a bit before they heard the sound of shuffling feet & whispers coming from around a corner.  Sam pulled the gun from his jacket’s pocket and Ruby took the knife before they simultaneously turned the corner.

Luz was still bound and barely conscious.  He was being dragged down a corridor by the second of the two men that had been talking with Cortizi outside of the sealed room and another man that had light brown hair with an appearance that might've been the pickpocket.  Leading the group was Bellamor & Cortizi.  They were moving with purpose away from the main corridors, away from possible witnesses.  Sam pointed the gun at the group.

“Let him go.”  Sam shouted.  

The group stopped moving and turned back to face Ruby & him.  Sam immediately confirmed in his mind that the brown haired man was the pickpocket when he pulled a knife from some pocket so quickly that Sam couldn't figure out where it'd actually come from.  The man held the knife toward Luz in a silent threat, making Sam narrow his eyes despite keeping his gun fixed Cortizi & Bellamor, the presumed leaders of the conspiracy.

“Mr. Campbell, this isn't your fight-”  Cortizi began in something meant to be a diplomatic tone.

“You tried to frame us.”  Ruby countered.

“It wasn't personal, you were just convenient distractions-”

“And trying to kill us?”

“We don't have time for this.”  Bellamor hissed at her partner.

“We can get what we need out of him.  We don't have any reason to bother you anymore.  Just walk away, enjoy the ball, & we’ll even see that you get a reward.”  Cortizi told them, then nodded to the two subordinates.  “Go ahead and ask, I can be very generous.”

“Let him go now or I will shoot you.”  Sam stated firmly.

“Well, in that case-”  Cortizi started, but he didn't have any intention of finishing the sentence.

The goon that wasn’t the pickpocket disappeared at the same time that the pickpocket moved to slit Luz’s throat.  Ruby blinked over, tackling the man with the knife.  She grappled with the man while trying to push Luz out of reach of the killers.  Cortizi moved to circle around her towards the bound security officer, but Ruby swung her knife at Cortizi, cutting his leg.

“Leave him.  We’ll find another!”  Bellamor told Cortizi while she grabbed his arm, pulling him after her as she ran down another corridor heading toward the middle of the complex.

Before Sam could move to help Ruby or stop Bellamor & Cortizi, he heard wings flap beside him-  The other goon was an angel.  He had teleported to Sam's side, grabbed the gun with his left hand, then swung his angel blade at Sam's chest with his right hand.  Sam let go of the gun in order to try blocking the angel blade.  Without a weapon all Sam could do was grab the angel’s wrist and lock his elbows before the blade reached his chest.  Rather than being knocked over by the force of the angel’s swing, Sam's dress shoes slid backwards on the marble floor.  

The angel struggled for a moment, trying to figure out how to stab Sam while Sam was keeping his arms locked, then he brought his left arm down on Sam's elbows.  Sam's arms buckled and the angel blade came toward him.  Sam dodged to the side, then hit the butt of the blade with his hand.  The sleek design of the angel blade included a minor hilt, but nothing of the sort on the back of the weapon.  In combination with the momentum of the angel's own swing, Sam hit the blade knocked it out of the angel's hand and across the floor.

It only took the pair of them a moment to realize that the angel was still holding Sam’s equally lethal pistol in his offhand.  The angel hastily repositioned the pistol, then made to shoot.  Sam grabbed the gun and tried to redirect the barrel away from himself with his main hand.  His offhand gripped the pistol’s slide, then pulled it off the back, partially disassembling the firearm.  Sam threw the slide across the room, removing another weapon from the fight.

With no more weapons available, the angel punched Sam hard in the face- probably fracturing his left cheekbone, knocking him out of the way.  When Sam recovered from the hit he saw that the angel was going for the blade, which had settled under a nearby gilded wingback chair.  The angel started getting down onto his hands & knees to reach for his blade.  

Sam pulled the garrote from his pants pocket, ran up behind him, wrapped it around the angel's neck, and yanked on the grips of the sharp wire.  He stomped onto the upper back of the angel’s body while pulling up with his arms.  The wire cut through the angel’s neck, then with another wrenching tug through the spine.  Sam hastily kicked the severed head about twenty feet away from the body.  While the body slowly crawled towards its head, Sam bent down to pick up the angel blade and finished him.

When he looked over to see how Ruby was doing, he huffed a small laugh.  The thug she’d been fighting was laying on his stomach on the floor.  His arms were pinned behind him, held in place by two knives that had been stabbed through his wrists- somehow she'd managed to stab the guy with his own knife.

“Found Chris Evans.”  Ruby muttered as she lifted the pickpocket’s head up by the hair to show Sam.  The man seemed to have passed out or possibly died, so Ruby pulled one of the knives from his back to serve as a weapon, then repinned both wrists with the remaining knife.

“And the angel.”  Sam replied as he stood up, then quickly glanced around for any other weapons that they might use against Bellamor & Cortizi.  He grab his jacket from the ground, slipped it on, then put the garrote wire into his pocket before spotting a sparse trail of blood left by Cortizi’s hurt leg.

“Can you hear me?”  Ruby asked Luz, who was looking around in a slight daze.  He nodded to her.  She undid his manacles then fed him one of the uppers from the baggie of complementary drugs.  “This should get you on your feet.”

“Come on, they're going to try to kill someone else.”  Sam gestured for Ruby to follow him.

“We’re helping.  Don't you dare fuck us.”  Ruby warned Luz as she ran after Sam down the hall, in pursuit of Bellamor & Cortizi.

They followed the sparse trail of blood left by the wound on Cortizi’s leg.  The chase led them down a staircase and passed the entry room that they had first entered through.  When they ran by the arched door to the entry room, Ruby nearly crashed into Sam, who had abruptly stopped.  The massive ornately carved mahogany exit doors were visible.  They knew who the killers were.  They'd achieved their desire at the time of their entry.  

They could just leave and be free from the danger.  But Bellamor & Cortizi were so close to completing the ritual.  All they had to do was find one more person to turn into a blood sacrifice, then they would be able to escape.  More than that, if Bellamor took the restrictions limiting the invitations to this plane they could potentially be able to jump between any of the planes.  That sort of power combined with a moral compass that enabled them to orchestrate multiple murders was simply dangerous.

“They only need one more.”  Sam said as he gripped the angel blade a bit tighter and looked away from the door to Ruby.

“Okay.”  Ruby nodded, then twirled the knife in her hand.  “Let's go dance.”

* * *

Cortizi shoved a partygoer out of his way as he & Bellamor ran diagonally across the dance floor, desperately trying to put some distance between themselves and Sam & Ruby.  Bellamor looked over her shoulder at the sound of someone chasing them.  She dodged Sam and weaved between a large group of people, then skirted one of the long marble bars.  Rather than attempting to get by the human shield she'd put in his way, Sam hurried after Cortizi instead and tackled him.  

Sam had no idea how to fight an elf.  He pinned Cortizi to the floor with his hands behind his back.  For a moment Sam thought he'd successfully immobilized him, until he saw Cortizi’s elbows & wrists twist with an inhuman range of motion.  Sam struggled to hold him, but Cortizi pulled an arm free and swung upward, elbowing Sam in the chest.  The two loud snaps & the stabbing sensation of broken ribs told him that Cortizi might have the strength advantage as well as flexibility.

Sam flipped the angel blade around in his hand, then hit Cortizi in the cheek with the butt of the weapon.  He didn't want to use lethal force against someone, especially in front of dozens of people who might try to intervene.  Cortizi grabbed Sam's throat, but Sam managed to pull his upper torso back out of reach.  

The elf started speaking in a language that Sam didn't recognize, but the sound of it made him feel dizzy.  Two of the nearby onlookers collapsed and a few others cried out in pain.  For a second Sam thought he might pass out.  He shook his head to try to refocus and spotted the cut that Ruby had inflicted on Cortizi's leg.  Sam shifted, repositioning so that his right shin pressed onto the injury.  Cortizi cringed in pain, stopping the disorienting speech.  Not wanting to waste the brief moment of clarity, Sam swung the butt of the angel at Cortizi’s head again.

Cortizi grabbed Sam’s wrist that was holding the blade with his offhand, pulled Sam down toward him with his main hand, then headbutted him.  Sam tried to shake it off while pulling back slightly.  As much as he wanted to stop Cortizi, grappling was too dangerous.  Sam moved to disengage, but when Cortizi jumped at the opportunity to get up off the floor, Sam swept his legs.  The elf fell hard on the marble floor.  Sam took advantage of his long legs and kicked Cortizi in the ribs, audibly cracking several.  When Cortizi hunched over to clutch his chest, Sam kicked again, connecting with the elf’s head, finally knocking him out.

Before even getting into the main hall, Ruby had cut her right palm with the knife in preparation for potentially having to fight magic with magic.  She tore open the azure parcel as she ran around the edge of the dance floor toward the bar, then grabbed a handful of magical herbs with her bloody hand.  Reciting a quick incantation, she charged at Bellamor and threw the dried plants at her.  Bellamor hardly had time to turn toward Ruby before she was hit with the deceptively innocuous projectiles.  The herbs made contact with Bellamor and immediately began taking root in her skin.

Bellamor screamed at the sudden pain before scratching several of the plants from her flesh.  With her fingertips bloodied, she whispered something and gestured in a sweeping motion at Ruby.  Ruby ducked to take cover behind the corner of the bar as an unseen force cracked its marble surface.

“Witch fight!”  yelled a man on one of the balconies, drawing even more spectators.

Ruby grabbed a small crystal bottle of alcohol, shoved a tindertwig in it, then threw it around the bar at Bellamor.  She didn’t wait to see whether the magical molotov cocktail had hit or not, Ruby immediately ran low behind the bar.  When she was close to where Bellamor had been standing, Ruby threw herself over the bar top feet first.  Her right foot connected with Bellamor, who’d been stumbling backwards away from the flames that were in front of her.

Ruby swung her knife at Bellamor's neck, but the witch blocked the strike with her left arm, suffering a deep cut.  Bellamor wiped up some of the blood from her arm, then gestured at Ruby, knocking her back into the flames.  Ruby rolled out of the fire, but it took her a moment to extinguish her dress, gloves, and part of her hair.  In the scuffle, the invitation fell out of Ruby's sleeve and landed only a foot from the fire.

While Ruby was distracted with the fire, Bellamor tore off a diamond necklace she was wearing and began reciting a spell.  Tiny sparks of electricity jumped across Bellamor’s skin, killing the remaining plants.  Bellamor swung the necklace, which suddenly emanated electricity like the handle of a whip made of lightning.  She struck Ruby with the electric whip, burning her thigh & torso where it made contact and causing Ruby to seize.  Bellamor moved toward Ruby, partially for another attack, but also to get closer to the invitation.

Having subdued Cortizi, Sam ran at Bellamor as she began reciting the incantation for the ritual sacrifice.  When he’d nearly gotten to arm's reach of her she telekinetically threw him into three bystanders, knocking them down.  Bellamor wound up to whip electricity at the entire group-

“Bella, stop what you're doing-”  Merida began ordering her apprentice.  Bellamor stopped and turned to the older woman with an expression of pure loathing.

“You stay out of this!”  Bellamor yelled as she lifted her arm to strike at her mentor.  Sam ran, grabbed Merida, and pulled her out of the way of the electrical strike.  The penumbra of the whip burned Sam’s right calf, causing him to stumble.  Sam tried to shield Merida as Bellamor started to wind up another attack.  “I'm tired of your-”

Ruby staggered to her feet, grabbed a silver tray of aperitifs from the bar top and swung it at Bellamor’s head.  The metal tray made a loud thwack as it connected with the side of Bellamor’s skull, nearly knocking her off her feet.  A dozen delicate crystal glasses flew off the tray in the move and shattered on the granite countertop.  Ruby clutched the stunned witch’s hair, then slammed her face into the crystal shards & polished stone.  While Bellamor was disoriented, Ruby moved to stand behind her, then pressed both sides of her neck just below the ears, cutting off the circulation to her brain.  The witch flailed for a few seconds before passing out.  Ruby dropped her unconscious body without any concern about the potentially hazardous marble floor.

Sam helped Merida to her feet, then limped over to Ruby.  He picked the invitation up off the ground and tucked it into his interior jacket pocket before checking on Ruby.  Most of the lower third of her dress had been burnt off.  A handful of assorted burn marks were scattered on her body & her cheek, but she barely seemed to notice.

Over a hundred people were silently staring at them, though the orchestra played on.  Through the crowd, half a dozen members of what had to be the House security cautiously approached them ready for a fight.  Sam tossed the angel blade to the ground in front of the group and raised his hands.  He elbowed Ruby, who slowly raised her hands too.

Carsilla emerged from behind three of the security officers.  She looked Sam & Ruby up and down, glanced at Cortizi & Bellamor, then crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“They killed at least five of your guests- they tried to kill Luz.  They wanted to steal your magic in order to travel between planes.”  Sam explained to Carsilla.  She stared down at Cortizi & Bellamor thoughtfully, then looked up with an amused curl to her lips when he added.  “They didn't mind their manners.”

“That's true.”  The mistress agreed.  She snapped her fingers and several officers moved forward to assist her.  “Disciplining the despicables is our duty.”

“They won't step foot on Earth again?”

“They won't have a foot to step with.”

Sam glanced over at the last two survivors of a murder plot that had claimed five innocent lives and would’ve taken even more given the opportunity.  Under normal circumstances he didn’t condone violence when the foe had been captured, but that was so rarely the case in their hunts that he didn’t have a suggestion for alternative treatment.  In addition, he & Ruby were outside of their domain- as long as Bellamor & Cortizi didn’t pose a threat to anyone on Earth, it was probably best to just disengage and leave- assuming they could.

“What about us?”

“We’ve found four fatalities that appear attributed to the pair of you.”

“It was self defense.”

“Excuse me, Ma’am.”  Luz staggered through the crowd, dragging the half undone manacles behind him.  He walked up to Carsilla.  “Allow me to corroborate that.  I'll place my name & its authority behind them.  They spared my life even when they mistook me for their would-be killer and they saved my life when it'd have been safer to walk away.”

“Fine.”  Carsilla agreed.

“Thank you.”  Sam said.  Luz tilted his head toward the exit, silently instructing them to leave while the opportunity was still available.  Ruby grabbed Sam's wrist and they took a few steps.

“Just a moment, Mr. Winchester.  I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you and I need to do something about that.”  Sam froze, then turned back to look at her.  She walked up to him, opened up his jacket, and reached into the inner pocket.  She withdrew the invitation, holding it up in front of him.  Before he could start explaining, she turned and started walking away.  “Try not to kill anyone on your way out.”

* * *

Sam offered Ruby his arm, though he wasn't exactly a source of stability thanks to his injured leg.  She gave a nonchalant courtesy to Carsilla, took his arm, then the pair of them started making their way through the crowd.  The several dozen bystanders parted for them, barely eliciting a few shocked whispers.  A single set of hands applauded enthusiastically from the third floor balcony- Sam nodded up at Draegus, who had clearly enjoyed the show.  

Luz followed them at a safe distance in order to make sure they went straight to the exit.  

“A quick word.”  Luz said when the three of them were alone in the entryway.  “There are dangers involved in environments that allow extreme behavior.  This was one of those rare occasions where a guest goes too far.  Normally, House security can handle things like this, but our jurisdiction ends at those doors.”

Sam supposed it made sense that Luz would have trouble finding some sort of pattern in the murders without knowing about the first three victims.  Without the pattern he'd been at a loss for the motive and was running down coincidences as leads, including him & Ruby.

“Thanks for vouching for us.”  Sam offered, earning a small nod of acknowledgement from Luz.

“Remember, discretion is the better part of valor.”  Luz commented.  “Don't give me a reason to go outside my jurisdiction.”

“Happily.”

Without wasting anymore time, Sam & Ruby opened the door and stepped into dizzying shadow.  They found themselves standing on the sidewalk in front of the chainlink fence where they'd entered.  They were both uninjured, though Sam felt fatigued from the whole encounter.  He was wearing his normal jeans, plaid button up shirt, and tan coat.  Ruby pet her leather jacket affectionately, then wiggled her thighs, rubbing the legs of her skinny jeans together.

“Panties are back where I left them.”  Ruby announced, then grabbed Sam's shirt and pulled him into a kiss.  “Maybe not for long though.”

He smiled down at her.  The cool night’s wind blew a few of her hairs into her face and he pushed them back, tucking them behind her ear.  Of all the crazy things, all the way their world had changed- Being able to kiss her, hold her, even love her- that was the biggest.

“That really happened, didn't it?”

“Oh yeah.”  She stood up on her toes to give him another kiss, then took his hand and started guiding him to the impala.

“I don't know how to explain this to Dean.  He's never going to believe us-”  Sam started digging through his jacket in searching for his cellphone as they walked, but stopped abruptly.  He pulled out an invitation with sealed blue wax pressed in the shape of a head with two faces.  Above the seal was a handwritten note.  “Compliments of the House.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my first time participating in a fic challenge and posting a story in a non-serial fashion. It was definitely an interesting learning experience. One of the unforeseen side effects of writing the whole story before posting any of it was that I found it a bit difficult to tell how the story comes off (in terms of tone, clarify, etc). I did get some feedback from a friend part way through and cleared up some plot holes, but I'm sure there are some more in there. I'm the first to admit it's not perfect, but hopefully you enjoyed the story. 
> 
> Also, if you enjoy Sam and Good!Ruby as a couple, check out my other fics. Those two are my otp and I'll probably be writing that ship until I die.
> 
> [Link to art](http://kuwlshadow.livejournal.com/84474.html)


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